South Bruny National Park
Encyclopedia
South Bruny National Park is located on Bruny Island, Tasmania
, Australia
, about 50 km south of Hobart. The park contains the Cape Bruny Lighthouse
. The highest point of the park (and of Bruny Island) is Mount Bruny at 504 m. The park also embraces the Labillardiere Peninsula, named in honour of the French botanist Jacques Labillardière
author of the first general flora of Australia and a member of Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
's expedition.
communities such as eucalypt
woodland
as well as heathland and coastal communities. There are also small patches of wet eucalypt forest and temperate rainforest.
and Tasmanian Pademelon
. The Eastern Quoll
has been reported. Spotted-tail Quolls, Tasmanian Devil
s and Common Wombat
s are absent. All twelve of Tasmania's endemic bird species are present, notably the Forty-spotted Pardalote
for which the island is the main stronghold. Little Penguin
s and Hooded Plover
s breed on the coast. Reptiles recorded include the Tiger Snake, Lowland Copperhead
and White-lipped Snake
.
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, about 50 km south of Hobart. The park contains the Cape Bruny Lighthouse
Cape Bruny Lighthouse
Cape Bruny Lighthouse at the southern tip of Bruny Island, Tasmania, is the second oldest extant lighthouse tower in Australia, as well as having the longest history of being continuously manned. Construction began in April 1836, it was first lit in March 1838, and was eventually decommissioned...
. The highest point of the park (and of Bruny Island) is Mount Bruny at 504 m. The park also embraces the Labillardiere Peninsula, named in honour of the French botanist Jacques Labillardière
Jacques Labillardière
Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière was a French naturalist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition...
author of the first general flora of Australia and a member of Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux was a French navigator who explored the Australian coast in 1792 while seeking traces of the lost expedition of La Pérouse....
's expedition.
Flora
Much of the park's vegetation is composed of dry sclerophyllSclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
communities such as eucalypt
Eucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
as well as heathland and coastal communities. There are also small patches of wet eucalypt forest and temperate rainforest.
Fauna
Common mammals in the park are Bennett's Wallaby, Common Brushtail PossumCommon Brushtail Possum
The Common Brushtail Possum is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, it is native to Australia, and the largest of the possums.Like most possums, the Common Brushtail is nocturnal...
and Tasmanian Pademelon
Tasmanian Pademelon
The Tasmanian Pademelon , also known as the Rufous-bellied Pademelon or Red-bellied Pademelon, is the sole endemic species of pademelon found in Tasmania, and formerly throughout south-eastern Australia...
. The Eastern Quoll
Eastern Quoll
The Eastern Quoll , also known as the Eastern Native Cat, is a medium-sized carnivorous dasyurid marsupial native to Australia. They are now considered extinct on the mainland, but remain widespread and even locally common in Tasmania...
has been reported. Spotted-tail Quolls, Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936...
s and Common Wombat
Common Wombat
The common wombat , also known as the coarse-haired wombat or bare-nosed wombat, is a marsupial, one of three species of wombats and the only one in the genus Vombatus. The common wombat grows to an average of long and a weight of .- Taxonomy :The common wombat was first described by George Shaw...
s are absent. All twelve of Tasmania's endemic bird species are present, notably the Forty-spotted Pardalote
Forty-spotted Pardalote
The Forty-spotted Pardalote is one of Australia's rarest birds and by far the rarest pardalote, being confined to the south-east corner of Tasmania.-Description:...
for which the island is the main stronghold. Little Penguin
Little Penguin
The Little Penguin is the smallest species of penguin. The penguin, which usually grows to an average of in height and in length , is found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand, with possible records from Chile.Apart from Little Penguins, they have several common names...
s and Hooded Plover
Hooded Plover
The Hooded Dotterel or Hooded Plover is a species of bird in the Charadriidae family. It is endemic to southern Australia and Tasmania. There are two recognized subspecies, both of which are classifed as Endangered....
s breed on the coast. Reptiles recorded include the Tiger Snake, Lowland Copperhead
Lowland Copperhead
The lowland copperhead or lowlands copperhead is a venomous snake species in the family Elapidae. It is commonly referred to as the copperhead, but is not closely related to the American copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix...
and White-lipped Snake
White-lipped Snake
The White-lipped Snake is a small species of elapid snake that is restricted to south-eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania. It is the smallest of 3 species of snake found in Tasmania and is Australia's most cold tolerant snake, even inhabiting areas on Mount Kosciuszko above the snow line...
.
Further reading
- Edward DuykerEdward DuykerEdward Duyker is an Australian historian and author born in Melbourne, Victoria, to a father from the Netherlands and a mother from Mauritius...
Citizen Labillardière: A Naturalist’s Life in Revolution and Exploration (1755—1834), Miegunyah/Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2003, ISBN 0 522 85010 3, Paperback reprint, 2004, ISBN 0 522 85160 6, pp. 383 (including notes, glossaries, zoological, botanical and general index), 12 maps, 18 black and white plates [Winner, New South Wales Premier’s General History Prize, 2004].