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 smallest crocodilian is the Cuvier's dwarf caiman ("Paleosuchus palpebrosus") from northern and central South America. It reaches up to in length. One of the smallest snakes known is the recently discovered Barbados threadsnake ("Leptotyphlops carlae"). Adults average about long, which is only about twice as long as the hatchlings. The Common blind snake("Indotyphlops braminus") measures long, uncommonly to long. The smallest known dinosaur (excluding modern birds) is "Anchiornis", a genus of feathered dinosaur that lived in what is now China during the Late Jurassic Period 160 to 155 million years ago. Adult specimens range from long, and the weight has