Fauna of Australia species are nocturnal and many arboreal. Two of the five living species of monotreme occur in Australia: the platypus and the short-beaked echidna. The monotremes differ from other mammals in their methods of reproduction; in particular, they lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. The platypus—a venomous, egg-laying, duck-billed amphibious mammal—is considered to be one of the strangest creatures in the animal kingdom. When it was first presented by Joseph Banks to English naturalists it was thought to be so strange that it was a cleverly created hoax. The short-beaked echidna is similarly strange, covered in hairy spikes
The Mammal Society Handbook is well established as the classic reference source detailing the biology, ecology and conservation of every mammal occurring in Britain and Ireland. The 3rd edition, dating to 1991, had long been out of press, until over 100 of the leading mammalogists, mostly members of The Mammal Society, contributed to complete this comprehensive 800-page 4th revision, published in 2008. It presents an authoritative summary of our current knowledge of mammal ecology, biology and conservation issues, with detailed accounts for every species of mammal found in or around the British Isles. http://mammal.org.uk/handbook The Mammal Society The Mammal Society is a British