BIO1042 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Megabat, Rat, Rakali
19 Sep 2018
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Bio1042 lecture 17 part 2 life and diversity. Evolution and biogeography of the australian fauna 1. Macropods: kangaroos, wallabies, rock-wallabies and rat-kangaroos, omnivores, browsers and grazers, about 70 species. South american marsupials: marsupials in south america also flourished in isolation, most south american marsupials went extinct in the late miocene/early pliocene, out-competed by placental mammals from north america (the great american interchange 3 million years ago) Females large investment in young: males die off over winter, birth timed with insect abundance. Supply of insects seasonally restricted: macropus kangaroo, unpredictable environment. Females continue to produce young, but can pause development: young only develop if conditions good, abandon young in bad year, reproduce quickly in good year. Land of lizards - skinks: 200 species of skinks in australia, adapt at overwater dispersal, many fossorial skinks. Varanid lizards: monitor lizards (goannas, 25 species in australia, predators and scavengers. Dragon lizards: 50 species of agamid lizards in australia, arid-adapted predators.
