Boomerang Test #6. Symbols of Australia
SILVER iii.) Flora and Fauna: Name and describe your State or Territory flora and fauna emblems.
Flora and Fauna emblems
FLORA:
Common (Pink) heath Epacris impresa
The Common Heath is a slender, upright shrub growing to about a metre in height. It has narrow, sharply pointed leaves with tubular flowers growing to about 25 mm in length arranged singularly in between the leaves forming a cluster of flowers to give it a brush like appearance.
FAUNA (Fauna, Avian, Marine):
Leadbeater’s possum Gymnobelideus leadbeateri
This possum is a shy small nocturnal marsupial, highly agile and living only in Victoria and habitats within the tall eucalypt forests within Central Victoria. This possum is regarded as one of the rare members of our fauna species. It was originally found in 1867 north of the Wonthaggi area of West Gippsland. With sightings few and far between it was thought that the possum became extinct with last sightings in 1909. It was a great surprise to science when the species was rediscovered near Marysville in 1961.
The Helmeted Honeyeater Lichenostomus melanops cassidix
The attractive Helmeted Honeyeater’s territory is in a small area on Woori Yallock Creek near Yellingbo on the outskirts of Melbourne. The Helmeted Honeyeater has sadly become an endangered species due to being particularly vulnerable to habitat disturbances, as it requires a combination of manna and swamp gums, with tea-trees and shrubby bushes alongside grass-lined watercourses for a balanced existence.
The Weedy Seadragon Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
The Weedy Seadragon was chosen as Victoria’s marine emblem in 2002, after a selection process designed to raise awareness about Victoria’s unique marine environment.
These beautifully coloured, dainty and timid animals are part of the Syngnathidae family. They swim slowly and gracefully over kelp forests and seagrass meadows where they shelter. They grow up to 45 cm. Long leaf-shaped appendages along the top and bottom of the body provide perfect camouflage.
[...] Describe the emblem of your State or Territory and show an understanding of what it means. iii.) Flora and Fauna: Name and describe your State or Territory flora and fauna [...]