Fauna of Australia in Australia, feeding on sea grass in coastal areas. The destruction of sea grass beds is a threat to the survival of this species. Eleven species of seal—family Pinnipedia—live off the southern coast. Australia and its territories are home to around 800 species of bird; 45% of these are endemic to Australia. The fossil record of birds in Australia is patchy; however, there are records of the ancestors of contemporary species as early as the Late Oligocene. Birds with a Gondwanan history include the flightless ratites (the emu and southern cassowary), megapodes (the malleefowl and Australian brush-turkey), and a huge
Emu Flat, South Australia Emu Flat, South Australia Emu Flat is a locality in the western Clare Valley in South Australia. In the 19th century, Emu Flat was the site of some copper mining by the Royal Mining Company and the Burra Company. The Burra Company already had a successful mine at Burra to the northeast. It had an agreement with the Royal Mining Company, but when the land was auctioned, Burra had the capacity to outbid on every lot. It could pay 20% of the purchase price, and if the land did not look good, could forfeit the deposit and land on sections