Platypus - Queensland

Fraser Island is separated from the Australian mainland by the 73 kilometer Great Sandy Strait. With an area of 1,840 square kilometers, it is the world’s largest sand island. Sand islands are primary made of sand and form when wind and ocean currents deposit sand from nearby river systems along the continental shelf.

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Ornithorhynchus anatinus - Along with four species of echidnas, the platypus is a monotreme. These unique mammals lay eggs instead of bearing live young, but they do nurse their offspring with milk and their bodies are covered in hair. The extant species of monotremes are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. The male platypus is one of a few mammals capable of injecting venom into an aggressor when defending itself through an ankle spur located on the hind foot. The female also has the spurs, but it does not deliver venom.

Short-beaked Echidna - Australian Capital Territory

When Australia became an independent country in 1901, two opposing sides debated whether Sidney or Melbourne would serve as the national capital. A compromise was reached in 1908 calling for New South Wales to cede a tract of land, referred to as the Australian Capital Territory, for the construction of Canberra. 

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Tachyglossus aculeatus - The short-beaked echidna is one of four extant echidna species in the Monotremata Order and the only echidna found in Australia; the other three are native to New Guinea. The powerful front claws are used for breaking into ant and termite nests or to dig burrows. The flexible tongue can extend 18 centimeters from the snout and is covered with a sticky mucus to catch and hold ants or termites. When threatened, the echidna can escape by burrowing into the ground or rolling itself up into a ball of spines.