The

marsupial Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a ...

family Peramelidae contains all of the extant

bandicoot Bandicoots are a group of more than 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial, largely nocturnal marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia. They are endemic to the Australia–New Guinea region, including the Bismarck Archipelag ...

s. They are found throughout Australia and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

, with at least some species living in every available habitat, from rainforest to desert. Four fossil peramelids are described. One known extinct species of bandicoot, the

pig-footed bandicoot ''Chaeropus'', known as the pig-footed bandicoots, is a genus of small mammals that became extinct during the 20th century. They were unique marsupials, of the order Peramelemorphia (bandicoots and bilbies), with unusually thin legs, yet were abl ...

, was so different from the other species, it was recently moved into its own family.

Characteristics

Peramelids are small marsupials, ranging in size from the

mouse bandicoot The mouse bandicoot (''Microperoryctes murina'') is a species of marsupial in the family Peramelidae. It is endemic to West Papua, Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. References Peramelemorphs Mars ...

, which is 15-17.5 cm long, to the

giant bandicoot The giant bandicoot (''Peroryctes broadbenti'') is a species of marsupial in the family Peramelidae endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. The type locality is Papua New Guinea, Central Pro ...

, which at 39–56 cm in length and up 4.7 kg in weight, is about the size of a

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit s ...

. They have short limbs and tails, smallish, mouse-like ears, and a long, pointed snout. Peramelids are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, with soil-dwelling invertebrates forming the major part of their diet; they also eat seeds, fruit, and fungi. Their teeth are correspondingly unspecialised, with most species having the

dental formula Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolog ...

Female peramelids have a

pouch Pouch may refer to: * A small bag such as a packet (container), teabag, money bag, sporran, fanny pack, etc. * Marsupium (disambiguation), especially pouch (marsupial), an anatomical feature in which young are carried * Cadaver pouch, a bod ...

that opens to the rear and contains eight teats. The maximum litter size is, therefore, eight, since marsupial young are attached to the teat during development, although two to four young per litter is a more typical number. The

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during preg ...

period of peramelids is the shortest among mammals, at just 12.5 days, the young are

weaned Weaning is the process of gradually introducing an infant human or another mammal to what will be its adult diet while withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk. The process takes place only in mammals, as only mammals produce milk. The infa ...

around two months of age, and reach sexual maturity at just three months. This allows a given female to produce more than one litter per breeding season and gives peramelids an unusually high reproductive rate compared with other marsupials.

Classification

The listing for extant species is based on The Third edition of Wilson & Reeder's

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, published in late 2005, ...

(2005), except where th
Mammal Diversity Database
and IUCN agree on a change. * Family Peramelidae ** Subfamily Peramelinae *** Genus ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch s ...

''† **** ''

Crash bandicoot ''Crash Bandicoot'' is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog as an exclusive for Sony's PlayStation console. It has seen numerous installments created by various developers and published on multiple platforms. The series co ...

''† (fossil) *** Genus '' Isoodon'': short-nosed bandicoots ****

Golden bandicoot The golden bandicoot (''Isoodon auratus''; Yolngu: ''Wan'kurra'') is a short-nosed bandicoot found in northern Australia. It is the smallest of its genus. The golden bandicoot is now a threatened species. It was once found throughout much ...

, ''Isoodon auratus'' **** Northern brown bandicoot, ''Isoodon macrourus'' ****

Southern brown bandicoot The southern brown bandicoot (''Isoodon obesulus'') is a short-nosed bandicoot, a type of marsupial, found mostly in southern Australia. It is also known as the quenda in South Western Australia (from the Noongar word ''). Taxonomy George Sha ...

, ''Isoodon obesulus'' *** Genus '' Perameles'': long-nosed or barred bandicoots ****

Western barred bandicoot The Western barred bandicoot (''Perameles bougainville''), also known as the Marl, is a small species of bandicoot; now extinct across most of its former range, the western barred bandicoot only survives on offshore islands and in fenced sanctua ...

, ''Perameles bougainville'' **** Desert bandicoot, ''Perameles eremiana''† (extinct) **** New South Wales barred bandicoot, ''Perameles fasciata''† (extinct) ****

Eastern barred bandicoot The eastern barred bandicoot (''Perameles gunnii'') is a nocturnal, rabbit-sized marsupial endemic to southeastern Australia, being native to the island of Tasmania and mainland Victoria. It is one of three surviving bandicoot species in the g ...

, ''Perameles gunnii'' **** Southwestern barred bandicoot, ''Perameles myosuros''† (extinct) ****

Long-nosed bandicoot The long-nosed bandicoot (''Perameles nasuta''), a marsupial, is a species of bandicoot found in eastern Australia, from north Queensland along the east coast to Victoria. Around long, it is sandy- or grey-brown with a long snouty nose. Omnivor ...

, ''Perameles nasuta'' ****

Southern barred bandicoot Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express ...

, ''Perameles notina''† (extinct) **** Ooldea barred bandicoot, ''Perameles papillon'')† (extinct)Travouillon & Phillips (2018)
"Total evidence analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of bandicoots and bilbies (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia): Reassessment of two species and description of a new species"
''Zootaxa''. February 2018. ****'' Perameles allinghamensis''† (fossil) ****'' Perameles bowensis''† (fossil) ****''

Perameles sobbei ''Perameles'' is a genus of marsupials of the order Peramelemorphia. They are referred to as long-nosed bandicoots or barred bandicoots. ''Perameles'', or ‘pouched badger’, is a hybrid word, from the Greek (πήρα, ‘pouch, bag’) and ...

''† (fossil) ** Subfamily Peroryctinae *** Genus '' Peroryctes'': New Guinean long-nosed bandicoots ****

Giant bandicoot The giant bandicoot (''Peroryctes broadbenti'') is a species of marsupial in the family Peramelidae endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. The type locality is Papua New Guinea, Central Pro ...

, ''Peroryctes broadbenti'' **** Raffray's bandicoot, ''Peroryctes raffrayana'' ****'' cf. Peroryctes tedfordi''† (fossil) ****''

cf. Peroryctes sp. The abbreviation ''cf.'' (short for the la, confer/conferatur, both meaning "compare") is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that ''cf.'' be used onl ...

''† (fossil) ** Subfamily Echymiperinae *** Genus '' Echymipera'': New Guinean spiny bandicoots **** Long-nosed spiny bandicoot, ''Echymipera rufescens'' ****

Clara's spiny bandicoot Clara's echymipera (''Echymipera clara''), or Clara's spiny bandicoot or white-lipped bandicoot, is a species of marsupial in the family Peramelidae. It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviate ...

, ''Echymipera clara'' ****

Menzies' spiny bandicoot Menzies' echymipera (''Echymipera echinista''), or Menzies' spiny bandicoot or Fly River bandicoot, is a species of marsupial in the family Peramelidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Pap ...

, ''Echymipera echinista'' ****

Common spiny bandicoot The common echymipera (''Echymipera kalubu''), or common spiny bandicoot, is a bandicoot. It is long-snouted even by bandicoot standards. The upper parts are a coarse reddish-brown, flecked with spiny buff and black hairs. The tail is short and a ...

, ''Echymipera kalubu'' ****

David's spiny bandicoot David's echymipera (''Echymipera davidi''), or David's spiny bandicoot, is a species of marsupial in the family Peramelidae. It is found on the island of Kiriwina, in the Trobriand Islands of Papua New Guinea, and may be present on other near ...

, ''Echymipera davidi'' *** Genus '' Microperoryctes'' : New Guinean mouse bandicoots ****

Mouse bandicoot The mouse bandicoot (''Microperoryctes murina'') is a species of marsupial in the family Peramelidae. It is endemic to West Papua, Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. References Peramelemorphs Mars ...

, ''Microperoryctes murina'' ****

Western striped bandicoot The striped bandicoot (''Microperoryctes longicauda'') is a species of marsupial in the family Peramelidae The marsupial family Peramelidae contains all of the extant bandicoots. They are found throughout Australia and New Guinea, with at lea ...

, ''Microperoryctes longicauda'' ****

Arfak pygmy bandicoot The Arfak pygmy bandicoot (''Microperoryctes aplini'') is a species of marsupial in the family Peramelidae. It is endemic to the Arfak mountains in the Vogelkop Peninsula of West Papua, in Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropica ...

, ''Microperoryctes aplini'' **** Papuan bandicoot, ''Microperoryctes papuensis'' *** Genus '' Rhynchomeles'' **** Seram bandicoot, ''Rhynchomeles prattorum''

References

* *

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q23146 Peramelemorphs Mammal families Taxa named by John Edward Gray