Australia (continent) Australia (continent) The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul, Australinea or Meganesia to distinguish it from the country of Australia, consists of the land masses which sit on Australia's continental shelf. This includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, and the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua New Guinea and two Indonesian provinces). Situated in the geographical region of Oceania, it is the smallest of the seven traditional continents in the English conception. The continent lies on a continental shelf overlain by shallow seas which divide it into several landmasses—the Arafura Sea and Torres Strait between mainland
Smallest organisms cetacean, which is also (as of 2006) the most endangered, is the vaquita. Male vaquitas grow to an average of around 135 cm (53 in); the females are slightly longer, averaging about 141 cm (55 in) in length. Duckweeds of the genus "Wolffia" are the world's smallest flowering plants. Fully grown, they measure only 300 µm by 600 µm and reach a mass of just 150 µg. Nanobes are thought by some scientists to be the smallest known organisms about one tenth the size of the smallest known bacteria. Nanobes, tiny filamental structures first found in some rocks and sediments,