What's your favourite Australian mammal? Wombat? Kangaroo? Possum? Or something less famous, like a dunnart or a dibbler? Well now is your chance to tell us.
Australia is home to incredible mammals. There are over 300 officially described native mammal species in Australia, with the vast majority being endemic: found nowhere else in the world.
Australia is also one of very few places to host all three main branches of the mammalian evolutionary tree: monotremes (think echidnas and platypuses), marsupials (kangaroos and koalas), and placental mammals. They fulfil a dizzying diversity of ecological niches and roles - from ecosystem-engineering bandicoots to native-plant-pollinating gliders to scavenging Tasmanian devils and many more delightful and charismatic characters.
We think Australian mammals deserve a bit of love and attention and have joined forces with Cosmos to launch the Australian Mammal of the Year poll. There are eight categories that you can vote in. You can vote in just one category or as many as you like.
The first round of voting is open from July 15 until August 11. You can vote as many times as you like and make sure to encourage family, friends, workmates and strangers to back your favourite. Or they can pick their own.
The winner of each category and the two overall best placed losers will go through to our final in mid-August to decide the Australian Mammal of the Year.
Discover the Australian Mammal of the Year categories:
The categories were compiled by Cosmos' readers and experts. Not every Australian mammal made the list. We are sorry if your favourite didn't make the cut.
Australian Mammal of the Year is a partnership between ACM and Cosmos. ACM is the publisher of this website and more than 140 other websites across Australia. Cosmos is published by The Royal Institution of Australia, a charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science.
ACM readers can get a discount on Cosmos premium online content or their quarterly magazine. Use the code acm01 when you sign up and you can get the first month free for the premium online content or 10% off the magazine.
