SUMMER 1994 -95 AUSTRALIA'S NO 'foppo; ..: t- ?- ,,, t.-r- 1 { DAY1 " Pants off, short.son, welcome totrop1cal . Darwin. DAY 2. Do town- to..ur. Hand feed giant\ sch ools offish at . Fir st thmgs· first, I nch. Cruise down to th e wharf and make Aquascene Adm·ire palm collection in Botan·IC G arden; � · two major disco veries . Oa rwin ha a b' i I harb ur. examine Abo.·11 1,inal. art collection in Th0 Museum and Art ,:�:�� �� � T he plate off nd chips goes ni�: i e nautical G allery ofth e N orthern T err1tory;· watch sunset from harbou.I ::t:::�: . view. You ar 'you can't move. cruise, followed b y corroboree and d'inner . Enough "r'o one day? AUSTRALIA'S NO HERN TERRITORY DAY 3. DAY 4. A day in the park. The Territory Wildlife Park. Off to Kakadu National Park, home to count­ A 400 hectare, award-winning wildlife sanctuary. Here you less animals, birds and reptiles - including some giant can explore the enormous range of local wildlife - anjmals, saltwater crocodiles. There's one that's two storeys hlgh. It's birds and fish close up. Having worked up a big appetite, you ao hotel. Call into the Visitor Centre and see the audio/visual can explore the enormous range of restaurants back in Darwin. to plan your attack. DAY 5. DAY 6. Up really early. Take a dawn boat tour on Aboriginal art lessons at Nourlangie Rock and Yellow Waters. Watching countless numbers of birds as you Ubirr galleries given freeby Park Rangers. These ancient rock silently cruise with the crocs is the experience of a lifetjme. paintings reOect the daily life and tucker of the Aboriginal Follow breakfast with a scenic flight over the nood-plain, up people - like catching barramundi. Later on, you can tuck into and over the escarpment and into Arnhemland. a local barra for dinner. ------------:as--::--- Postcode ____ TelephoQe ( k This is only a iUide to get you going. You11 find there are endless variat.iona when you read N.T. Information Pack. To your copy pleaee phone 1 800 621 336 or aencl the completed coupon to Northern Territ.oryHoliday theCentre, PO 2632, Springsreceive NT 0871. Hope you el\ioy holidaying there as much I do. U Box Alice � ----------------u ---- DAY 7. Up early. Fly to Katherine to explore the spectacular gorge. Take leisurely cruise or if you're a 'hands­ "You'l1 never never know, on' type, paddle a canoe. Fish jump. Birds sing. Silence reigns. if you never never go." Time up! Sorry, back to Darwin, back to home thinking what a 'Top' week it's been. MN&C/fC8 NTT3773 ERN TERRITORY A greatadventure awaitsthe intrepid • • he world of spiders is one of Tmystery and intrigue. This book is a natural history of commonly found Australian spiders, and a fascinating account of how beau­ tifully and effectively spiders spin their silken webs. spider's use of silk is the A key to its development. There is distinct progression from the earliest home-bound, ground-dwelling spiders, the Mygalomorphs, which simply grabbed at passing prey, through to the acrobatic, wheel-web Master Weavers. How did spiders evolve snare making and learn to construct such remarkable pieces of engineering? Master Weavers, with their two-dimensional, masterfully designed webs, manifest amazing economy and efficiency of silk and energy. total of 220 colour photographs and 20 colour artworks illustrate the silken world of spiders and pay tribute to these often misunderstood creatures. The Aspider's silk is not only beautiful, but very functional. Without spiders, the world's insect population and, consequently, levels of famine and disease, would soar. The Silken Web- A Natural History of Australian Spiders by Bert Simon-Brunet ISBN 0 7301 0401 X RRP $39·9S Great Australian Natural History from REED a part of Reed BooksAustralia BE TEMPTED Up Front TO ISLANDS NEAR AND FAR OF SPECTACULAR UNTOUCHED BEAUTY STEEPED IN HISTORY, CULTURAL ALLURE AND UNCLUTTERED LIFESTYLES - MATCHED hen I was young, ONLY BY THE PEOPLE like many other children my age, THEMSELVES one of my favourite television shows CHOOSE YOUR 0NN was the Bugs Bunny Show, and one SoUTH PACIFIC of my favourite characters was the PARADISE AND ENJOY Tasmanian Devil. Since then, I have AN AFFINITY WITH always been intrigued by these NATURE. supposedly insatiable carnivores. For some time now I have been keen LORD HOWE ISLAND to locate someone to write an accu­ A World Heritage Area rate piece on the curious animal behi"nd the cartoon. When Linda This may be the image we are most familiar NORFOLK ISLAND with but it belies the true nature of the Devll. Gibson, one of the Australian Historical - Picturesque Museum's mammalogists, attended the 1993 mammal conference at the KINGDOM OF TONGA University of New South Wales I asked her to speak to any Devil researchers The Friendly Islands that may turn up, on our behalf. Menna Jones, an experienced Devil researcher from Tasmania, was there. She indicated she would love to write WESTERN SAMOA for ANH, but a prior commitment to an overseas publication meant she would The Cradle of Polynesia unfortunately have to pass on the opportunity. It looked like the real Devil COOK ISLANDS would have to stay hidden behind that crazy animation. But then almost a year Visit Heaven on Earth later a letter arrived from Menna saying that she had UNIQUE - NATURAL - been released from her obliga­ UNFORGETTABLE tions and would we still be EXPERIENCES! interested in an article on her FOR INFORMATION Devil research! Needless to AND BOOKINGS CALL say we accepted and the ten­ page result is sure to surprise and fascinate you. 163 Eastern Valley Way A model in the making: 'Big Tooth' Shark. Ever wondered what the Middle Cove NSW 2068 ancestors of the Great White Shark might have been like, or why the males of P.O. Box 755 Willoughby 2068 some species go to elaborate lengths to satisfythe desires of some very choosy PH: (02) 958 2799 females? Well, it's all in this issue of ANH, along with tree frogs, bluebottles, FREECALL: 008 244336 (free outside Sydney area) the Golden Bandicoot and a rather differentlook at man-made landscapes. FAX: (02) 958 2079 L.H.1. FASTBOOK VACATIONS PTY LTD ACN: 003926369 -Jennifer Saunders UC: 2TA003131 ANH SUMMER 1994-95 3 BIG TOOTH Articles As little as two million years ago, a shark more than twice the size of the largest ever Summer 1994--95 recorded Great White cruised Volume 24 Number 11 the oceans. Whyand how did such an amazing predator evolve? Published by The Australian Museum Trust BYJOH LO G 6 College Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. 42 Phone: (02) 339 8111 Fax: (02) 339 8313 Trust President: Patricia Watson Museum Director: Desmond Griffin EDITOR Jennifer Saunders, B.Sc. SCIENTIFIC EDITOR Georgina Hickey, B.Sc. PHOTO RESEARCHER Kate Lowe DESIGN AND PRODUCTIO Watch This! Design PRINTING PANDANUS Excel Printing Company BeforeEuropeans arrived, MARKETINGAND SALES northernAustralia's pandanus Mike Field Phone: (02) 339 8331 formed impenetrable thickets ADVERTISING that provided native animals DRESSED TO IMPRESS Sari Jarvenpaa with the protection of an The males of a large number Phone: (02) 339 8331 extremely complex habitat. of species 'dress up', behave SUBSCRIPTIONS We take a look at these outrageously and make as Mary Pollinger remarkable plants that have much noise as possible-all Phone: (02) 339 8119 thinned out considerably since in the hope of impressing a Toll-free (008) 028 558 the introduction of feral pigs choosy female. Fax: (02) 339 8313 and buffalo. Annual subscription (4 issues) BY MARKA. ELGAR & Within Australia SA30 BY RJCHARD BRAITHWAITE MICHAELJ,L. MAGRATH Other countries SA42 24 Two-year subscription (8 issues) 50 Within Australia SASS Other countries SA78 Three-year subscription (12 issues) Within Australia SAS I Other countries SAI08 New subscriptions can be made by credit card on the ANH toll-free hotline (008) 028 558 or use the form in this magazine. U it has been removed, send cheque, money order or credit card authorisation to the address above, made payable to the 'Australian Museum' in Australian currency. All material appearing in ANH is copyright. Reproduction in part or in whole is not permitted without written authorisation from the Editor. Opinions expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily represent the policies or views of the Australian Museum. ANH is printed on archival quality paper suitable for library collections. Published 1994 DINING WITH THE DEVIL TREE FROGS: ISSN-0004-9840 The Tasmanian Devil is one PUTTING THEIR EGGS of Tasmania's most popular symbols. But how much do we IN MORE THAN really know about the largest ONE BASKET @ remaining marsupial If you think that tree frogs Australian Natural History is proud winner of carnivore? Does it deserve its are just those bright green the 1987, '88, '89, '90 , '91, '92 & '93 Whitley image as a ferocious and odious frogs with the large toe pads, Awards for Best Periodical. killer? Menna Jones has spent then think again. Tree frogs many interesting nights in the are a surprisingly diverse group in both their Front Cover bush with these wonderful animals and introduces us to appearance and the way Emerging from its daytime shelter. a they reproduce. Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisi1) yawns, the real devil. revealing the powerfuljaw and strong teeth that BYME NAJO ES BY STEPHENJ. RJCHARDS enable it to be Tasmania's bush undertaker. Photo by John Cancalosi/ Auscape International. 32 64 4 ANH SUMMER 1994-95 VIEWS FROM THE FOURTH DIMENSION 'SINE' OF THE TIMES? Since 1986 Mike Archer has been conducting a surveyto assess the extentof creationist commitment in Universityof New South Wales biology students.