Archivum is a project cataloguing the animal to the Linnaean System of Taxonomy. Carolus Linnaeus, founder of modern taxonomy, drew up rules for assigning names to plants and animals. He was the first to use binomial nomenclature (1758). Although he introduced the standard hierarchy of class, order, genus and species, his main success in his own day was providing workable keys, making it possible to identify plants and animals from his books. For plants, he made use of the hitherto neglected small parts of the flower. Archivum offers an insight into cataloguing applied to the museum system, and focuses on native fauna in Australia.This project, offered by Museums Victoria, provides the opportunity to personally document specimens from their archive (including wombat, koala, lyrebird, echidna) specifically related to the Bend of Islands region, a special ecological zone and the place of my early childhood. Access to this archive is extremely limited to the public. Archivum offers the possibility of questioning the archive itself. What is remembered? What is recorded and collected? What is omitted? What is retained? Do these specimens become spectral evidence? Do they become sites of fractured and anxious histories? Does this become an observational unease? Or a concomitant desire to retain the past? To date, Archivum is a series of photographic works inscribed with taxonomic references. These works become spectral representations of the organisms’ presence.
LINNEAUS’ SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION KINGDOM - ANIMALIA PHYLUM - CHORDATA CLASS - MAMMALIA ORDER- DIPROTODONTIA FAMILY - PHASCOLARTIDAE GENUS - PHASCOLARTOS SPECIES Eucalyptus (from Greek, Euka—utta) equals well-covered is a diverse genus of trees (and a few scrubs) the members of which dominate the tree flora of Australia. More than 700 species of Eucalyptus native to Australia. Members of the genus can be found in every region of the continent.
KOALA DISTRIBUTION Koalas today are found in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. Their range extends from the Atherton Tableland west of Cairns in Queensland to islands off the coast of Victoria and South Australia. In the south and west, to Central and Western Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
ETYMOLOGY Koala is from the Dhurag meaning ‘no water’, Dumbirrbi, in the Jag-era language, Marrambi in Yugarbu, Borobi in the Ugambeh, Dumbrijbbi in the Turrbul language. Koala: phascularctos cinereus Life span: 13-18 years Young: Joey Trophic level: herbivorus Mass: 4-15 kilos (adult) Collective noun: colony Gestation period: 30-36 days Closest living relative: wombat
Fossil records indicate that many years ago, the koala inhabited parts of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. There are no fossil records of koalas ever living in Tasmania. Diet: Koalas eat a variety of eucalyptus leaves and a few other species. They consumer 500 grams daily. Koalas sleep up to 20 hours per day. Active at night. Diseases: A range of diseases can affect. Chlamydia, a bacterial infection rendering koalas infertile, is contributing to the current decline in koala numbers.
KURBOROO “This is a story from the Upper Yarra River region of Victoria. This is Wurundjeri country. Aborigines took the fur of opossums and kangaroos to make winter cloaks but they did not use the skin of the koala”. “The story carries two important messages for Aborigines. One is that people should share what they have with others who need it. The other is that the laws about using animals and plants for food must be strictly observed. Breaking the law could bring harm to everyone”. The retelling of the story Kur-bo-roo that appeared in R. B. Smythe's, The Aborigines of Victoria Vol. 1 published in Melbourne in 1878. In the Wurundjeri dreaming stories, Kurboroo (koala) doesn’t drink water.
Barrandhang is the Wiradjuri word for koala, and they love living and eating gum leaves merrily. The koala in Darug is “gula” or “gulamy” related words include, “kula” from Georges River to Sydney’s south and west, and “kulla” among south-eastern Queensland’s Dippil peoples. Other names for the koala from several Aboriginal groups include, colo, koolah, boorabee, korbor, colah, koolewong. (Wik Monk-Con), people of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. This is the original word and was one of the few animal names not changed by the early settlers.
WHY IS THE KOALA GENOME IMPORTANT? The koala is recognised world-wide as an iconic Australian species, and there is anxiety in Australia and internationally that this unique species is declining in the wild. The koala is of interest to scientists, policy makers and public because of their biological uniqueness, the high level of attention they receive for conservation, and their attraction to the visitor economy. (Koala related tourism is estimated at over $AU1.5 billion per annum). Koalas are evolutionarily distinct. They are the only living representative of the marsupial family. Phascolarctidae, the last of up to 20 species recognised in the fossil record.
Koalas are evolutionarily distinct. They are the only living representative of the marsupial family, Phascolarctidae, the last of up to 20 species recognised in the fossil record. Koalas are biologically unique. They can eat highly toxic eucalyptus leaves that would kill most other animals, but they are picky eaters, so very prone to habitat loss. With increasing threats of predation and habitat loss through urbanisation, koalas are particularly vulnerable to deleterious effects of fragmented habitat and population bottlenecks, and are further threatened by disease, low genetic diversity and climate change. Worryingly some koala populations are expected to decline across Australia by up to 50% over the next three generations (approximately 20 years).
KURBOROO “This is a story from the Upper Yarra River region of Victoria. This is Wurundjeri country. Aborigines took the fur of opossums and kangaroos to make winter cloaks but they did not use the skin of the koala”. “The story carries two important messages for Aborigines. One is that people should share what they have with others who need it. The other is that the laws about using animals and plants for food must be strictly observed. Breaking the law could bring harm to everyone”. The retelling of the story Kur-bo-roo that appeared in R. B. Smythe's, The Aborigines of Victoria Vol. 1 published in Melbourne in 1878. In the Wurundjeri dreaming stories, Kurboroo (koala) doesn’t drink water.
KUR-BO-ROO THE KOALA (Illustration)
SUPERB LYREBIRD LINNEAUS’ SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION Kingdom / Animalia Phylum / Chordata Class / Aves Order / Passeriforme Family / Menuridae (Lesson, 1828) Genus / Menura (Latham, 1801) Species / Menura, novaehollandiea, Menura alberti, Menura tyawanoides
Food Worms, grubs, beetles, etc, found at or below the soil level and under bark or small logs on forrest floor. Surface scratching are good indicators of birds present in area. Activity Roosts in trees but feeds at ground level. Distribution From north-east of Melbourne (Dandenongs and King Lake to Queensland border). Introduced to Tasmania.
David Attenborough, BBC Wildlife “What bird has the elaborate and most complex and most beautiful song in the world? I guess there are a lot of contenders. This bird must be one of them, the Superb Lyrebird of Southern Australia. He clears a space in the forrest to serve as his concert platform. To persuade females to come close and admire his plumes, he sings the most complex of all songs. The complex songs he can manage by imitating the other birds around him, such as the kookaburra. It’s a very convincing impersonation. Even the original is fooled. He imitates the calls of at least 20 different species. He also, in his attempt to out sing his rivals, incorporates other sounds he hears in the forest. Such as, camera shutter, a camera with a motor drive, car alarm. Now the sounds of foresters and their chainsaws working nearby.
Identification Large ground-dwelling bird with powerful legs and long tail. Primarily grey-brown with reddish outer wing. Males have spectacular long tail comprising different feather types. The main “lyre” feathers bold bearing while the other feathers are plain, thin and wispy. Juveniles and females lack the longer tail feathers. This may cause confusion with Alberts lyrebird but note range and colour of underparts (cold and greyish in Superb). Superb lyrebird is found in rain forrest habitats in southeastern Australia where it forages in leaf litter for food. It has a very powerful song and is known for mimicking other species.
Breeding The Superb Lyrebird breeds from June through October. The male will make quite a presentation to the female by building one or two small mounds of dirt to use as a podium. He then raises his tail above his head and sings his intricate song made up of sounds from his surroundings while dancing for the female. Males generally mate with several females. Females build the next either on the ground or on rocks, tree stumps or in caves. The nest is delicately constructed of sticks with a soft lining of fern, roots and feathers. Females lay a single egg that is brown to purple in colour. The egg hatches after 50 days, with the young Superb Lyrebird remaining in the nest for a further 6 weeks. The female Superb Lyrebird is in sole charge of nest building, incubating, and rearing the young. The young will forage together in groups with the adults, until the young males leave to stake their own territory. Superb Lyrebirds can live up to twenty years of age.
SUPERB LYREBIRD (Illustration)
ECHIDNA DOMAIN - EUKARYA; KINGDOM - ANIMALIA; PHYLUM - CHORDATA; CLASS - MAMMALIA; ORDER - MONOTREMATAE; FAMILY - TACHYGLOSSIDAE; GENUS - TACHYGLOSSUS; SPECIES - TACHYGLOSSUS ACULEATUS The phylogenic tree shows how tachyglossus aculeatus relate to other organisms. This phylogenic tree is from K.B.M. Miska, L. Hellman and R.D. Miller, 2003. The tree shows how echidnas relate to other members of the kingdom Animalia. The tachyglossus aculeatus is the scientific name for the short nosed echidna. Tachyglossus means “quicktongued” and aculeatus means “equipped with spines”. The echidnas tend to roam in a wide range of areas such as urban outskirts, coastal forests and dry inland to support its diet of ants and termites. They will also feed on invertebrates such as beetles and earth worms (Scheeling and Hayne, 2012). The short-nosed or short-beaked echidna can be found in Australia and north-west New Guinea, temperate areas of Australia and low land New Guinea, and is not considered to be an endangered species. Tachyglossus aculeatus can be found in many different areas, it doesn’t require a specialist terrain. The only requirement for a living area is a good amount of ants and termites which it will roam to get. The echidna is a home range species, meaning that it does not occupy one specific territory. Some other organisms related to the echidna are: opossum, possum, human, chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, cotton-top tamarind, black bearded saki, Hoffman’s titi, Ma’s Night monkey, Weeper Capuchin, cow, pig, horse, Musspratus rat, Chinese hamster, guinea pig, Woodchuck, chicken, Xenopus, Atlantic Cod, Japanese Hallibut, Japanese Mecaka, Channel catfish, common carp, zebra fish, rainbow trout (Nicol 2011).