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Bullrout Bullrout are responsible for most fish stings that occur in upper tidal reaches and freshwaters of New South Wales and Queensland. The venomous fin spines can cause painful wounds. They are an ambush predator of small fish and crustaceans, hiding amongst snags and aquatic plants.
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Porcupinefish Swimbladder These strange leathery objects found occasionally on beaches are special internal organs of the porcupinefish. They are found throughout the Indo-west Pacific region, with ten species known from Queensland.
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Peacock Mantis Shrimp The Peacock Mantis Shrimp is an active hunter that seeks and eats other crustaceans, small fish and molluscs. It is found across northern Australia and widespread in the Indo-West Pacific region.
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Giant Squid Giant Squid are among the world's largest molluscs (the longest recorded being approximately 13 metres), and heaviest invertebrates (up to half a tonne). Only the Colossal Squid is thought to be larger (14 metres).
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Brown Tiger Prawn The Brown Tiger Prawn is a large, banded prawn growing to 235 mm in length. It occurs on mud or sandy mud, and is found in northern Australia from Shark Bay, WA, to central NSW.
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Estuarine Stonefish Stonefish are the most venomous of all fishes. They are found throughout shallow coastal waters of the northern half of Australia. Stonefish are extremely well camouflaged and often almost indistinguishable from their natural surrounds. The venomous dorsal fin spines can cause extremely painful wounds and other serious medical issues.
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Cleaner Shrimps & allies This interesting group of small benthic decapod crustaceans belongs to the Infraorder Stenopodidea. It includes only six species in two families in Australian waters, with the Banded Coral Shrimp always the most common and conspicuous.
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Textile Cone The Textile Cone shell has an irregular shingle-like pattern. It feeds on other molluscs which it immobilises by injecting a powerful venom with a harpoon-like tooth. The species is found in tropical waters of the Indo-west Pacific.
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Kuiter's Nudibranch Kuiter's Nudibranch is commonly 40-60 mm when extended although some specimens may grow to 75 mm. The species has a strong warning colour pattern. It is found throughout northern Australia and the south-western Pacific.
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Pustulose Phyllidiid The Pustulose Phyllidiid is a nudibranch that lives on coral substrates in the lower intertidal zone and down to about 30 m depth, where it may be seen crawling during the day. It is one of the most common nudibranchs in the tropical Indo-west Pacific.
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Freshwater Crocodile The Freshwater Crocodile is a narrow-snouted species that grows to 3 metres. It occurs in far northern Australia. In Queensland, this species is usually found in western-flowing rivers that drain into the Gulf of Carpentaria.
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Striped Marshfrog The Striped Marshfrog is light brown to grey-brown and marked with bold, dark longitudinal stripes. It is widespread in coastal eastern Australia and also occurs in Tasmania.
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Geography Cone The Geography Cone is a large species of cone snail with the shell reaching up to about 120 mm long. Geography Cones live on sand and rubble, under rocks and coral in the intertidal and subtidal zones. They are found from north WA to southern Queensland, and are widely distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific.
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Cephalopods This entirely marine class includes such familiar animals as the octopus, cuttlefish and squid and also the so-called ‘living-fossil’ Nautilus and the extinct ammonites. As the name suggests the limbs are closely associated with the head, and in most cephalopods these limbs (arms and tentacles) possess numerous suckers which help to secure prey. Many species of squid, octopus and cuttlefish are of major commercial importance (primarily as seafood).
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Hairy Mussel The Hairy Mussel occurs abundantly along the eastern and southern coasts of Australia as far south as Tasmania, particularly in estuarine localities. Shells of living animals are covered in short bristles. They occur in eastern and southern Australia.
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Diamondback Squid The Diamondback Squid is instantly recognisable by its large size, bright red colouration and distinctive, angular shape (echoed in the specific name 'rhombus'). The main body can reach 1 metre and with tentacle length combined, the entire animal may be up to 2 metres in overall length. It is found Australia-wide but is sporadic.
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Pygmy Wisp The Pygmy Wisp is a tiny damselfly that inhabits ponds, swamps and fringes of dams and lakes with plentiful aquatic vegetation. Mature males are dark brown or black with greenish markings and a reddish tip to the abdomen. Young females are mostly red and become black and green as they age.
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Saltwater Crocodile The Saltwater or Estuarine Crocodile is a broad-snouted species that grows to a large size. It occurs in the islands of the western Pacific, India, south-east Asia, New Guinea and northern Australia. In Queensland, Saltwater Crocodiles may be encountered in the sea or any coastal waterway from Rockhampton north.
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Red-rumped Wisp The Red-rumped Wisp is a tiny damselfly that inhabits a variety of standing water habitats, including small, well-vegetated ponds, dams and swamps. It is very similar to the Pgymy Wisp but males have more of the tip of the abdomen reddish. However, only female Red-rumped Wisps are known from south-east Queensland.
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Freshwater Snake (Keelback Snake) The Freshwater Snake is olive brown with irregular dark cross-bands. This species grows to 75 cm. It is found in coastal areas of northern Australia from northern New South Wales to the Kimberley, Western Australia.
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