Nature

Octopuses are some of the weirdest and smartest animals in the ocean. There are roughly 300 known species living in oceans all over the world, ranging from shallow coral reefs to deep abyssal plains.

Photo: Damian Brockie. Weedy seadragons belong to the same family as seahorses and pipefishes, but unlike seahorses, they cannot grip with their tails, so they hover and drift, steering with tiny, almost invisible fins. 

Nudibranchs are molluscs that lose their shell after the larval stage. There are more than 3,000 species worldwide, and more than 400 occur in south-eastern Australia. 

Photo: Stefan Andrews, courstey of the Great Southern Reef Foundation 

The big-bellied seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) is one of three seahorse species found in Tasmanian waters. Reaching up to 35 cm in height, they are one of the worlds largest seahorses, with a big round belly as their distinctive feature. 

The lynx is a medium-sized wild cat known for its short tail, tufted ears, and large paws used as natural snowshoes.

The Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish is the largest freshwater invertebrate in the world. Photo: Tilde Bergstrom 

The Spotted-tailed Quoll is the second largest carnivorous marsupial in Australia after the Tasmanian Devil.

Polar bears are the world’s largest land carnivores and apex predators, inhabiting the Arctic sea ice. Photo: Hans-Jurgen Mager

The Australasian gannet, also known as the Australian gannet, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family. Photo: Dan Broun

There are nine species of fur seals in the world, and the Australian fur seal is the largest of them. Photo: Warwick Berry

Young Leadbeaters possum by Dan Harley. Source: leadbeaters.org.au