Australia (continent) meanings: travel writer Paul Theroux included New Zealand in his definition and others have used it for Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. Another biologist, Richard Dawkins, coined the name "Australinea" in 2004. "Australia-New Guinea" has also been used. With a total land area of , the Australian continent is the smallest, and second-lowest human inhabited (after Antarctica) continent on Earth. The continental shelf connecting the islands, half of which is less than deep, covers some , including the Sahul Shelf and Bass Strait. As the country of Australia is mostly on a single landmass, and comprises most of the continent,
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,