Unit 03 - Striped Possum’s Midnight Feast

Good Reference Books

Good reference books in the classroom can assist children look at animal features:

Queensland Museum (2000) Wildlife of Tropical North Queensland (Cooktown to Mackay), Queensland Museum, South Brisbane

Menkhorst, Peter and Knight, Frank (2001/2004) A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne (first and second editions)

Strahan, Ronald (editor) (1983/2000) The Australian Museum Complete Book of Australian Mammals, Angus and Roberston Publishers, Sydney

Photographs

Below you will find pictures of nocturnal animals and information about where each one lives. Click on the thumbnail picture to enlarge the image.

1. Host animal: Striped Possum



Who am I? I am a Striped Possum
Where do I live? High up in the trees
What do I eat? Wood insects that I dig out from tree trunks with my claws
What do I do? I snort and scratch and smell bad
What is special about me? I am very beautiful with my black and white stripes

2. Boobook Owl



Who am I? I am a large rainforest owl
Where do I live? In the rainforest trees
What do I eat? Mice, rats and lizards
What do I do? I hunt at nighttime and can fly thought the forest in the dark
What is special about me? I make a special “boo book, boo book” sound at night – which is how I got my name

3. Glow-worm



Who am I? I am an insect larva, not a worm. I grow up to become a fungus midge
Where do I live? In the rainforest
What do I eat? Small insects that I trap in my sticky, glowing trap lines
What do I do? I can glow in the dark
What is special about me? I am carnivorous

4. Giant Blue Earthworm



Who am I? I am a giant earthworm
Where do I live? I burrow deep into the wet earth of the rainforest
What do I eat? Leaf litter and dirt
What do I do? I grow up to a metre long and I am bright blue
What is special about me? My spit glows in the dark

5. Rainforest Snail



Who am I? I am a land dwelling snail
Where do I live? On the rainforest floor
What do I eat? Plant debris
What do I do? I move on my own secretions of slime
What is special about me? My shell keeps me from drying up

6. Leaf Katydid



Who am I? I am an insect that looks like a green leaf
Where do I live? High up in the canopy of rainforests
What do I eat? I eat leaves and flowers of rainforest trees
What do I do? I disguise myself to look like the plants I live on and I make a loud sound by rubbing my legs together
What is special about me? My wings look like green leaves

7. White-kneed King Cricket



Who am I? I am a carnivorous insect
Where do I live? On the rainforest floor
What do I eat? I kill small creatures with my mighty jaws
What do I do? I can give you a nasty bite if you pick me up
What is special about me? I have white knees

8. White-lipped Tree Frog



Who am I? I am a very large frog with a special white strip around my mouth
Where do I live? In the rainforest and in people‘s gardens and homes
What do I eat? I eat insects and spiders and worms
What do I do? I make a deep “worrrk” sound
What is special about me? I am the world’s largest tree frog and I can live a long time

9. Northern-barred Frog



Who am I? I am a unique rainforest frog
Where do I live? In the mountains near fast flowing streams
What do I eat? Insects and worms and spiders
What do I do? I make a deep “gruuump” sound
What is special about me? I lay eggs in damp soil, not in water

10. Orange-thighed Tree Frog



Who am I? I am a tropical frog
Where do I live? I live on the edges of rainforests and wet forests
What do I eat? Insects and worms and spiders
What do I do? I make a loud call that sounds like “waaark” followed by a series of trills that sound like “rill, rill rill”
What is special about me? I have red-orange eyes and orange legs

11. Australian Wood Frog



Who am I? I am a unique Australian frog
Where do I live? In permanent lowland pools and streams
What do I eat? Insects and worms
What do I do? I make a sound like a duck, I go “quack quack”, but I am a frog
What is special about me? My vocal sacks blow out at the side so when I am quacking like a duck I look pretty funny

12. Ornate Nursery Frog



Who am I? I am a very small frog
Where do I live? In rainforest
What do I eat? Insects and worms
What do I do? I look after my eggs which develop into froglets before hatching out
What is special about me? I have a black “W” stripe on my back

13. Stony Creek Frog



Who am I? I am a unique rainforest frog
Where do I live? Close to rainforest streams
What do I eat? Insects and worms
What do I do? I can turn lemon yellow at nighttime and I make a “whirr” sound
What is special about me? Female frogs are much bigger than male frogs

14. Ring-tailed Gecko



Who am I? I am a rainforest reptile
Where do I live? In rocky places on the margins of rainforest
What do I eat? A lot, I am always very hungry
What do I do? I look for food all the time so I am called “voracious”
What is special about me? I have beautiful stripes across my body

15. Northern Leaf-tailed Gecko



Who am I? I am Australia’s largest gecko, I can grow up to 23 cm long
Where do I live? Up in the trees so I am arboreal
What do I eat? Insects like King Crickets (yum!)
What do I do? I look like tree bark
What is special about me? I have a large tail which looks like a leaf for disguise

16. Python



Who am I? I am a large non-venemous snake
Where do I live? In the rainforest
What do I eat? Small mammals and frogs
What do I do? I sleep a lot unless I am hungry
What is special about me? I have a beautiful jungle disguise

17. Slatey Grey Snake



Who am I? I am a 1.5 metre non-venemous snake
Where do I live? Near water in the rainforest
What do I eat? Frogs and lizards
What do I do? I come out at nighttime
What is special about me? I have a glossy black back and a shiny white belly

18. Northern Spotted-tailed Quoll



Who am I? I am a large, bad- tempered, carnivorous marsupial
Where do I live? In rainforest mainly in the mountains
What do I eat? I eat mammals, fruit and insects
What do I do? I have large white spots on my back and I spend nights hunting for food
What is special about me? I am also called the marsupial “cat” and I am endangered. The only place I have left to live is the Wet Tropics

19. Mahogany Glider



Who am I? I am a very rare Australian marsupial
Where do I live? In coastal woodland
What do I eat? Nectar and insects
What do I do? I sleep in tree hollows during the day
What is special about me? There is less that 2000 of me left in the world

20. Daintree River Ringtail Possum



Who am I? I am a rare rainforest possum
Where do I live? Only in three places in the world, on the Mount Windsor Tableland, the Carbine Tableland and the McDowell Ranges
What do I eat? Leaves and fruits
What do I do? I come out at night-time to feed and sleep in the day
What is special about me? I have beautiful caramel coloured fur

21. Long-tailed Pygmy Possum



Who am I? I am a very small marsupial possum
Where do I live? In the tops of rainforest trees
What do I eat? Nectar, pollen and insects
What do I do? I am very secretive and hard to see
What is special about me? I look like I am wearing a black eye mask

22. White Lemuroid Possum



Who am I? I am a special north Queensland possum
Where do I live? In tall trees in upland rainforest
What do I eat? Rainforest leaves
What do I do? I live together with members of my family
What is special about me? I have beautiful white fur

23. Spectacled Flying Fox



Who am I? I am an important rainforest megabat
Where do I live? In rainforest
What do I eat? Fruit and flowers
What do I do? I live in large groups with lots of other flying foxes and hang upside down in the trees during the day
What is special about me? I am very noisy and I have beautiful gold and black fur with pale yellow fur around my eyes that makes me look like I am wearing spectacles (a pair of glases)

24. Water Rat



Who am I? I am a large native rat
Where do I live? Near streams and waterways
What do I eat? Yabbies, clams and fish
What do I do? I swim and play in the water
What is special about me? I used to be hunted for my lovely thick waterproof fur but now I am a protected species of rat

25. Long-nosed bandicoot



Who am I? I am a funny looking marsupial
Where do I live? On the ground in rainforests and in people’s gardens
What do I eat? I scrounge anything I can find to eat, including insects and compost
What do I do? I make a trumpet sound and cannot climb
What is special about me? I have a very long nose

26. Antechinus

Who am I? I am a very small carnivorous marsupial
Where do I live? On the rainforest floor
What do I eat? Insects, worms and small lizards
What do I do? I live a very fast life, I am always looking for food
What is special about me? I walk like Charlie Chaplin’s clown, with my back feet all stuck out to the side

27. Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo



Who am I? I am a tree kangaroo and a very rare animal
Where do I live? Up in the rainforest trees
What do I eat? Fruits and leaves
What do I do? I spend my days sleeping and come out to feed at nighttime
What is special about me? I am endemic to the Wet Tropics, it is my only home. I have orange coloured fur and a black nose.

28. Orange-footed Scrub Fowl



Who am I? I am a large rainforest bird
Where do I live? On the ground in the forest
What do I eat? Insects, worms and centipedes
What do I do? I scratch around in the rainforest leaf litter and build large nesting mounds in which I lay my eggs
What is special about me? I make a very loud noise at nighttime and I have long, bright orange legs


29. Platypus



Who am I? I am THE platypus, the world's most unusual mammal
Where do I live? I live in streams and waterways
What do I eat? Yabbies and worms
What do I do? I sleep in my burrow during the day
What is special about me? I lay eggs so I am a monotreme, a very special kind of mammal. I am only found in Australia.

30. Bush Stone-Curlew



Who am I? I am a large bird with long legs
Where do I live? On the ground on the edges of forest and in people’s gardens
What do I eat? Insects and frogs
What do I do? I make a mournful sound at night that goes “wee loo, wee loo”
What is special about me? I remind people of ghosts