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Tooth and Claw

The powerful jaws and sweeping tails of saltwater
crocodiles. The complex and fascinating mouthparts of
insects. The relentless battles and haunting beauty of
nocturnal Australia on the hunt. The mighty talons and
razor beaks that raptors use with such lethal effect.

This issue's theme of Tooth & Claw brings us up close to some impressive and rather scary subjects. But the most frightening – tiny yellow spores – hardly look threatening at all. As Ilka Nelson observes in her
column 'Considering', much of our violence against nature is hidden or distanced. Australian eucalypts, introduced to South America in commercial plantations, provided new hosts for a pathogenic fungus already present in Myrtaceae native to that continent. The spores are tiny enough to travel via soil, plants, clothes, machinery, etc, and eucalyptus rust has now been detected in Australia. How will this pathogen affect our native bushland? Better to act now and hope we need never discover the full potential of this disaster.

By Michael J Barritt

What do you give a toothy reptile that can grow up to 7m long and weigh more than 1000kg? Respect.

A fierce and ruthless hunter stalked across northern Australia. No, not the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), but the humans who once pursued this population of the world’s largest living reptile almost to the point of extinction. Make no mistake. The saltwater crocodile is a finely-tuned apex predator sitting squarely on top of the food chain.

By Lee K. Curtis

Where do science fiction writers and filmmakers find inspiration for monsters, mutants and creatures from outer space? The creative mind is a remarkable thing but so, too, is nature: a seemingly endless source of visually arresting body models.

Many of these are insects – a word derived from the Latin insectum, meaning 'divided animal'. Insects have three distinct body parts: head, thorax and abdomen. The heads include sensory organs such as eyes, antennae as well as the complex and fascinating mouthparts which are the focus of this article.

By Carol Booth

With so much of our wildlife finding homes and food among gum trees – and their relatives – the arrival of eucalyptus rust in Australia poses a huge threat.

Something new is blowing in the wind: tiny, yellow spores that blight plants belonging to Australia’s dominant plant family, the Myrtaceae. Known to date as myrtle rust (Uredo rangelii) the fungus is now considered by some taxonomists to be eucalyptus rust (Puccinia psidii) also known as guava rust.

By Jeremy Ringma

Stay up late for revealing insights into many Australian animals. Hints on how to find the action, and make the most of it - darkness awakens new opportunities to observe and record.

In Australia, searching for wildlife in the middle of the day is likely to produce very little, apart from the occasional sunloving skink. Even diurnally active birds are often more active in the early morning and late afternoon, avoiding the oppressive midday sun...

By Frank Harrison, with Mark Culleton

Raptors are remarkable birds in many ways. Perhaps the most remarkable is the speed and strength of the talons they use to capture their prey.

Meat-eating avians such as butcherbirds and kookaburras kill by hammering and stabbing with their blunt bills. Raptors have evolved much more methodical procedures. First contact is usually their talons, which immediately penetrate the prey's outer layer, causing serious hemorrhage and tissue damage to internal organs. However, this does not confirm a quick kill.

By Lee K. Curtis and John Stanisic

Unlike the introduced species ravaging our gardens, native Australian snails (more than 2500 species, with an estimated 1500 in eastern Australia) feed on detritus, fungi microalgae, and other biofilm; enrich soil, convert decomposing vegetable matter into protein and are food for lizards, birds (especially pittas), mammals, carabid beetles and even other snails...

• Australian Extremes
• Be Crocwise
• Wingspan Birds of Prey Trust

Editorial, City Animal, Considering, In Our Hands: Wildlife Art, NatureWatch, Books Reviews, Winter Skies, Young and Wild, Scratchings and Rustlings, WPSQ in Action, Swamp Cartoon and our regular environmental crossword.

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