Collecting curiosities was a gentlemanly occupation for wealthy and educated 18th-century Europeans. Few creatures aroused more curiosity than those from Australia. But collections demand organisation, and classification itself reveals patterns to life that cannot be ignored. From a leisurely occupation, the science of biology was born. Cabinets de curiosites became national museums, with specimens from Australia playing an integral role in all kinds of biological debates. Australian museums now foster their own research and continue to provide major and sometimes unexpected perspectives to international scientific developments. Continent of Curiosities follows the thread of individual natural history stories through the scientists of one of Australia's oldest museums, Museum Victoria. Together, these stories weave a history of the development of biological science from an Australian perspective, with insights into the people and places that influence the way we see and understand the natural world around us.

Koalas regularly appeared in Australian biologist Danielle Clode’s backyard, but it was only when a bushfire threatened that she truly paid them attention. She soon realized how much she had to learn about these complex and mysterious animals.In vivid, descriptive prose, Clode embarks on a delightful and surprising journey through evolutionary biology, natural history and ecology to understand where these enigmatic animals came from and what their future may hold. She begins her search with the fossils of ancient giant koalas, delving into why the modern koala has become the lone survivor of a once-diverse family of uniquely Australian marsupials.Koala investigates the remarkable physiology of these charismatic creatures. Born the size of tiny “jellybeans,” joeys face an uphill battle, from crawling into their mother’s pouch to being weaned onto a toxic diet of gum-tree leaves, the koalas’ single source of food.Clode explores the complex relationship and unexpected connections between this endearing species and humans. She explains how koalas are simultaneously threatened with extinction in some areas due to disease, climate change and increasing wildfires, while overpopulating forests in other parts of the country.Deeply researched and filled with wonder, Koala is both a tender and inquisitive paean to a species unlike any other and a call to ensure its survival.

Koalas regularly appeared in Australian biologist Danielle Clode’s backyard but it was only when a bushfire threatened that she truly paid them attention. She soon realised how much she had to learn about these complex and mysterious animals.In vivid, descriptive prose, Clode embarks on a delightful and surprising journey through evolutionary biology, natural history and ecology to understand where these enigmatic animals came from and what their future may hold. She begins her search with the fossils of ancient giant koalas, delving into why the modern koala has become the lone survivor of a once-diverse family of uniquely Australian marsupials.Koala investigates the remarkable physiology of these charismatic creatures. Born the size of tiny “jellybeans”, joeys face an uphill battle, from crawling into their mother’s pouch to being weaned onto a toxic diet of gum-tree leaves, the koalas’ single source of food. Clode explores the complex relationship and unexpected connections between this endearing species and humans. She explains how koalas are simultaneously threatened with extinction in some areas due to disease, climate change and increasing wildfires, while overpopulating forests in other parts of the country.Deeply researched and filled with wonder, Koala is both a tender and inquisitive paean to a species unlike any other and a call to ensure its survival.

Discover the captivating world of the echidnaThere are few animals more unusual than the echidna a spiky, egg-laying mammal that eats ants. But some of the most striking things about echidnas are things most of us dont know. That they use their snout like a snorkel when they swim, that they can sense electromagnetic fields, that they have intriguingly complex brains, startling physical strength and backwards back feet. That they go into torpor when conditions are poor and can survive fires by sheltering underground. And that during the mating season, male echidnas will line up behind a female, making cooing noises and forming an orderly echidna train, waiting for their chance to impress her with some very strange reproductive equipment!In The Enigmatic Echidna, biologist and award-winning author Danielle Clode follows the echidna on its eclectic path through the Australian landscape. Equal parts surprising, amusing and enlightening, it is an irresistible journey into their unique and beautiful world.A new book from Danielle Clode is always a treat, and The Enigmatic Echidna is no exception. I learnt so much when reading this book, including the fact that echidnas intelligence, like everything else about them, is unique. Clodes stories about echidnas seem to amble out of the datasets, archives, history books and Country straight onto the page. Most moving of all is the way Clode conveys the fact that even to spy one of these remarkable animals in the wild is a blessing. Sophie CunninghamThe Enigmatic Echidna asks us to look past the assumption that its subject is no more than an evolutionary curio to reveal an animal rich in cultural and scientific significance. Written with rigour and expansive curiosity, it contains multitudes. James BradleyFascinating, endearing and beautifully written Inga SimpsonA book rich with intriguing facts and delightfully poetic turns of phrase Books+PublishingClode has an engaging, slyly amusing style that enters the spirit of the spiky thing itself. Sydney Morning HeraldSuch an impressive animal merits a biography as engaging and delightful as this one. Hobart Mercury

Collecting curiosities was a gentlemanly occupation for wealthy and educated 18th-century Europeans. Few creatures aroused more curiosity than those from Australia. But collections demand organisation, and classification itself reveals patterns to life that cannot be ignored. From a leisurely occupation, the science of biology was born. Cabinets de curiosites became national museums, with specimens from Australia playing an integral role in all kinds of biological debates. Australian museums now foster their own research and continue to provide major and sometimes unexpected perspectives to international scientific developments. Continent of Curiosities follows the thread of individual natural history stories through the scientists of one of Australia's oldest museums, Museum Victoria. Together, these stories weave a history of the development of biological science from an Australian perspective, with insights into the people and places that influence the way we see and understand the natural world around us.

Koalas regularly appeared in Australian biologist Danielle Clode’s backyard, but it was only when a bushfire threatened that she truly paid them attention. She soon realized how much she had to learn about these complex and mysterious animals.In vivid, descriptive prose, Clode embarks on a delightful and surprising journey through evolutionary biology, natural history and ecology to understand where these enigmatic animals came from and what their future may hold. She begins her search with the fossils of ancient giant koalas, delving into why the modern koala has become the lone survivor of a once-diverse family of uniquely Australian marsupials.Koala investigates the remarkable physiology of these charismatic creatures. Born the size of tiny “jellybeans,” joeys face an uphill battle, from crawling into their mother’s pouch to being weaned onto a toxic diet of gum-tree leaves, the koalas’ single source of food.Clode explores the complex relationship and unexpected connections between this endearing species and humans. She explains how koalas are simultaneously threatened with extinction in some areas due to disease, climate change and increasing wildfires, while overpopulating forests in other parts of the country.Deeply researched and filled with wonder, Koala is both a tender and inquisitive paean to a species unlike any other and a call to ensure its survival.

Koalas regularly appeared in Australian biologist Danielle Clode’s backyard but it was only when a bushfire threatened that she truly paid them attention. She soon realised how much she had to learn about these complex and mysterious animals.In vivid, descriptive prose, Clode embarks on a delightful and surprising journey through evolutionary biology, natural history and ecology to understand where these enigmatic animals came from and what their future may hold. She begins her search with the fossils of ancient giant koalas, delving into why the modern koala has become the lone survivor of a once-diverse family of uniquely Australian marsupials.Koala investigates the remarkable physiology of these charismatic creatures. Born the size of tiny “jellybeans”, joeys face an uphill battle, from crawling into their mother’s pouch to being weaned onto a toxic diet of gum-tree leaves, the koalas’ single source of food. Clode explores the complex relationship and unexpected connections between this endearing species and humans. She explains how koalas are simultaneously threatened with extinction in some areas due to disease, climate change and increasing wildfires, while overpopulating forests in other parts of the country.Deeply researched and filled with wonder, Koala is both a tender and inquisitive paean to a species unlike any other and a call to ensure its survival.

Discover the captivating world of the echidnaThere are few animals more unusual than the echidna a spiky, egg-laying mammal that eats ants. But some of the most striking things about echidnas are things most of us dont know. That they use their snout like a snorkel when they swim, that they can sense electromagnetic fields, that they have intriguingly complex brains, startling physical strength and backwards back feet. That they go into torpor when conditions are poor and can survive fires by sheltering underground. And that during the mating season, male echidnas will line up behind a female, making cooing noises and forming an orderly echidna train, waiting for their chance to impress her with some very strange reproductive equipment!In The Enigmatic Echidna, biologist and award-winning author Danielle Clode follows the echidna on its eclectic path through the Australian landscape. Equal parts surprising, amusing and enlightening, it is an irresistible journey into their unique and beautiful world.A new book from Danielle Clode is always a treat, and The Enigmatic Echidna is no exception. I learnt so much when reading this book, including the fact that echidnas intelligence, like everything else about them, is unique. Clodes stories about echidnas seem to amble out of the datasets, archives, history books and Country straight onto the page. Most moving of all is the way Clode conveys the fact that even to spy one of these remarkable animals in the wild is a blessing. Sophie CunninghamThe Enigmatic Echidna asks us to look past the assumption that its subject is no more than an evolutionary curio to reveal an animal rich in cultural and scientific significance. Written with rigour and expansive curiosity, it contains multitudes. James BradleyFascinating, endearing and beautifully written Inga SimpsonA book rich with intriguing facts and delightfully poetic turns of phrase Books+PublishingClode has an engaging, slyly amusing style that enters the spirit of the spiky thing itself. Sydney Morning HeraldSuch an impressive animal merits a biography as engaging and delightful as this one. Hobart Mercury