To all people who are or aren’t from Australia what would be your dream animal to see that lives in Aus?

Oh yeah! One day

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Because so many plants in NZ are introduced species from all over the world in the NP visitor centre I work at I occasionally ID these for people, we have at least 7 species of Banksia which has been introduced. It is a strange enough plant that people want to know what it is.

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Numbat is probably near the top of my list.

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I’m lucky enough to live in Australia and I’ve seen many of the mentioned animals already! My top species that I haven’t yet seen would be:
An adult female Hooded Horror (Tamolanica atricoxis), Australia’s largest mantis - I’ve seen males but they are tiny compared to the enormous females!
A Giant Hooded Katydid (Siliquofera grandis), Australia’s largest orthopteran, also found in New Guinea but it juuuuust makes it into northern Australia.
Charon trebax, a very rare ambylpygid known from just a tiny handful of specimens and sightings (I know of four total).

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As someone who’s seen an adult specimen in the wild they are 10x cooler in person then in a photo I swear it’s true! Also one of my favourite Aussie reptiles

I would love to see Brown Quail and Stubble Quail! Both are very cute and beautiful birds. I would also like to see the King Quail. I love the blues and rich red-browns on the males.

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This seems like a good entry to the animal insults thread.

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Me!

(Well, living there for say, a year should do it. Then back to Canada to bore all my relatives with my new observations.)

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Anything dangerous would be really cool. Also I really need to see a frogmouth or a bowerbird, as well as any giant moths, beetles, or other insects/arachnids that aren’t like the fun-size ones I have in Ohio. Rule of thumb: fun size is never fun. Usually just disappointing (at least when it comes to candy bars…)

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I’ve been lucky enough to live in AU for the last 18 years, and been extremely lucky enough to see a lot of the country’s coolest animals, but I’m still dying to see a quokka, and a thorny devil (which I tried to find when in Uluru, but no luck, likely b/c I had to idea where to look). Also, leafy sea dragons are high on my wish list, as well as some of the very cool nudibranchs I’ve seen photos of.

Highlights of things I’ve seen: Eastern barred bandicoot, Satin Bowerbird in his bower, tidying up, and the best of all possible experiences, I got to swim with a platypus at a wildlife rescue/sanctuary. Hands down best, most amazing experience ever.

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My favourite animal period, Varanus giganteus as well as what would be an adorable Inaturalist first, Varanus sparnus!

Can you use the normal names please I’m not that smart :joy:

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If you go down there again try looking on the road that goes to Kings canyon caravan park since I was going down there to camp and by chance I saw a adult one on the road! Also there 10x cooler in real life then in any photos

Haha, Perentie and Dampier Peninsula monitor.

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i’d love to see some of the Australia-only lacewings&kin, two that come to mind immediately are blue-eyed lacewings and pied lacewings:
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/487367-Nymphes-myrmeleonoides
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/447352-Porismus-strigatus

but all the bugs in general!

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Oh yes the Perentie is so cool and I’m yet to catch but that 2nd goanna could you put a link that shows me a photo of it since there’s a tendency for non Aussies to come up with different names then the goannas true name for example ( Yellow spotted monitor) you and other know as the (Argus Monitor)

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Completely agree!

After a bowerbird, my next choice would be the Gouldian Finch. How are these birds even real? They look like they were designed by a toddler with a new box of crayons. :laughing:

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https://iucn-mlsg.org/species/australian-species-2/varanus-sparnus/

I saw my first pied lacewing a few months back. Did not disappoint but I only had my mobile phone on me :smiling_face_with_tear:

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