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What’s your favourite Australian mammal? Wombat? Kangaroo? Possum? Or something less famous, like a dunnart or a dibbler?
Australia is home to incredible mammals. There are over 300 officially described native mammal species in Australia, with the vast majority being endemic: found nowhere else in the world.
Australia is also one of very few places to host all three main branches of the mammalian evolutionary tree: monotremes (think echidnas and platypuses), marsupials (kangaroos and koalas), and placental mammals. They fulfil a dizzying diversity of ecological niches and roles – from ecosystem-engineering bandicoots to native-plant-pollinating gliders to scavenging Tasmanian devils and many more delightful and charismatic characters.
Sadly, many of these wonderful mammals are threatened by climate change, habitat loss, invasive species like feral cats and foxes, and more. Australia has one of the highest rates of overall biodiversity loss among wealthy countries, and we know that at least 39 mammal species have become extinct since European arrival.
There are some familiar (often furry) faces among the candidates, but also opportunities to learn about lesser-known and underappreciated species – and let’s not forget the marine mammals, like dugongs and dolphins. Who knows, you might even find a new favourite mammal to call your own!
Voting will be open until 11 August to find our 10 finalists: the top voted species for each of the categories along with the two next highest voted species across all categories. After which, voting for our winner of Australian Mammal of the Year will commence.
And for bonus fun, check out the Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium’s Australian Mammals Species List as a great place to discover more species to celebrate and possibly nominate.
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