HomeDiscover & LearnAnimal factsheets Animal factsheets Discover the astonishing variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, marine life and more in the Australian Museum collections. Updated 03/05/23 Spiders Learn more about spiders, their origins, and how they are classified. Discover factsheets from the Arachnology collection, which includes the largest collection of funnel-web spiders in Australia. Spider diversityDangerous spidersFactsheets Learn more Mammals Discover Australia's mammals - all of which have hair or fur, produce milk and are warm-blooded. MonotremesMarsupialsPlacentals Learn more Australia's native frogs More than 240 species of frog have been discovered in Australia! Explore our frog factsheets about learn more about our native amphibians. Find out more Fishes Fishes are very diverse and have a range of body sizes from the massive whale shark down to the smallest fish under a centimetre in length. Factsheets Learn more Birds Find out more about the unique and ingenious ways Australian birds have adapted to habitats. The Australian Museum has one of the largest ornithological collections in the Southern Hemisphere, containing a wide cross-section of these feathered animals. Ornithology Find out more Insects Explore the fascinating world of insects from beautiful butterflies to creepy crawly cockroaches! Entomology Learn more Reptiles Discover a diverse group of animals including turtles, lizards, snakes and crocodiles, including the largest living reptile in the world: the Australian Crocodile! Herpetology Find out more Worms The Australian Museum houses an important collection of earthworms, bristle worms and leeches, including an extensive bristle worm collection from Australia and Indo-Pacific. Learn about these resilient creatures that have virtually conquered every habitat on the planet! Terrestrial InvertebratesPolychaetes Learn more Jellyfish, anemones and corals Discover factsheets from this ancient group of animals that have lived on earth for more than 650 million years. Cnidarians Learn more Sea squirts and sea tulips Discover sea squirts and sea tulips - with over 80 species in Sydney alone. The Australian Museum's Marine Invertebrate collection houses more than 1600 urochordates (predominantly ascidian) lots, mainly from Australia and Antarctica. Marine life Learn more Molluscs Learn more about this unique and varied animal group, molluscs are very diverse in appearance and habitat. Malacology Read more Sea stars and sea urchins Did you know that Sydney alone has more than 120 species of echinoderms? Step into the underwater world and learn more about these spiny creatures. EchinodermsMarine life Read more Plankton Learn more about the varieties of plankton - phytoplankton, zooplankton and holoplankton - and learn why the Bluewater Zone is so important to the survival of the Great Barrier Reef. Marine life Read more Crustaceans Find out more about crustaceans - crabs, lobsters, prawns, barnacles - and what makes them such interesting creatures. The Australian Museum has a long tradition of studying crustaceans and this is reflected in the extensive Marine Invertebrates collection. Marine Invertebrates Learn more Centipedes and millipedes Step into the multi-legged world of these crawling creatures and learn how important they are to our environment. Myriapods More details Wildlife of Sydney Explore the unique habitats of Sydney's wildlife and what kind of animals will you find in and around Sydney Harbour. HabitatsAnimals resourcesFishes of Sydney Harbour Find out more Sydney Seastars Assists in the identification of seastars (or starfish) encountered in the Sydney region (defined as between, Gosford to the north and Bundeena to the south) in depths to 30 metres. Read more Australian Bats Most bats are nocturnal animals, meaning they search for prey at night and sleep during the day. Find out more about some of Australia’s bat species and where bats are found. Flying mammalsMammalogy Learn more Australia’s extinct animals Learning about Australia’s extinct fauna helps us to create links through time that relate the animals of the past with those of today. Extinction theoriesFact sheets Read More Dangerous Australian animals Meet some of Australia's most dangerous animals and learn about the different ways they poison and catch their prey. The Australian Museum has an extensive collection of Australia's deadliest animals to find out more about why they are so dangerous to humans. Learn more Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI®) AMRI® brings together scientific expertise and world-class research infrastructure to increase our knowledge of the world around us and inform environmental decision-making for a better future. Biodiversity & geodiversityCollections-based research Discover more You may also be interested in...
