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https://theconversation.com/why-are-there-hopping-mice-in-australia-but-no-kangaroos-in-asia-its-a-long-story-209067>
"The animals in Australia are super-different to those in Asia. This goes
without saying; we know Australia is full of weird and wonderful creatures
found nowhere else on Earth, such as the platypus and the koala.
But it may surprise you to know that many of our most iconic critters came from
Asia and arrived only recently (in geological terms, at least).
These most recent members of Australia’s characteristic fauna include many
lizards, such as goannas and thorny devils, and other animals including hopping
mice, flying foxes and the kookaburra. Yet the traffic was largely one way –
there are far fewer representatives of Australian fauna in Asia than there are
Asian fauna in Australia.
Why is the situation so asymmetrical? In a study published today in the journal
Science, my colleagues and I analysed information about the distribution and
habitat of 20,433 species of land-dwelling vertebrates – as well as climate and
plate tectonics over the past 30 million years – to find out."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
