Northern brown bandicoot

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Northern brown bandicoot [1]
Northern Brown Bandicoot.jpg
Queensland, Australia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Peramelemorphia
Family: Peramelidae
Genus: Isoodon
Species:
I. macrourus
Binomial name
Isoodon macrourus
(Gould, 1842)
Northern Brown Bandicoot area.png
Northern brown bandicoot range
(blue — extant, black — extinct)

The northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus), a marsupial species, is a bandicoot found only on the northern and eastern coasts of Australia and nearby islands, mainly Papua New Guinea. It is not, however, found far inland. [1]

Contents

Description

Northern brown bandicoot in Daintree, Queensland Australia Northern Brown Bandicoot 2 JCB.jpg
Northern brown bandicoot in Daintree, Queensland Australia

This species can be set apart from other marsupials by two traits; it is both polyprotodont (i.e., several pairs of lower front teeth) and syndactylous. [3] The northern brown bandicoot has typical body and tail lengths of 40 and 15 cm (15.7 and 5.9 in), respectively. On average it weighs 1,200 g (2.6 lb). This marsupial has a thick harsh coat but is not spiny. The dorsal pelage is light brown in appearance with speckled black patterns throughout. On the ventral surface it is solid white. [4] The northern brown bandicoot has a reverse pouch so it won't fill with soil when digging. [5] This bandicoot also has short, rounded ears and a short nose. One can easily mistake the northern brown bandicoot for the southern brown bandicoot. The two species differ in both size, with the northern brown bandicoot larger, and regional locality, in that the southern brown bandicoot is found only on the southern coastline of Australia. [3]

The male is typically 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) longer and about 0.5 kilograms (1.1 lb) heavier than the female. [3]

Ecology

The populations of the northern brown bandicoot live in two different habitats: one during the dry season and the other during the wet season. During the dry season, this species lives in thick vegetation consisting of tall weeds, small trees, and dense shrubs. This probably occurs because of the sparse food supply that can be found. During the wet season though, the northern brown bandicoot "comes out" and roams open grasslands where sources of food are more abundant. [6]

The northern brown bandicoot is one of relatively few native Australian ground-dwelling mammals that is able to survive within urbanized landscapes. The generalized dietary and habitat requirements, as well as a high reproductive output, undoubtedly facilitate the survival of the species in urban habitat fragments. [7]

The northern brown bandicoot makes individual nests or homes on the ground consisting of simple mounds of hay and twigs that are well camouflaged and waterproof. The inside is hollow and large enough for just the single bandicoot. Some bandicoots use hollowed out tree trunks or abandoned rabbit dens for shelter. In general, however, the northern brown bandicoot shows a strong preference for homes in areas of low ground cover. [3]

The northern brown bandicoot is omnivorous. It eats insects, earthworms, berries, and grass seeds. Sometimes when food is scarce, the female bandicoot will eat her young. This marsupial forages alone during the night and has a keen sense of smell. This allows it to find food either laying in the open or buried underground. Hunting at night, however, also has its consequences. The bandicoot is prime prey for many nocturnal cats, foxes, and owls found in Australia. [4] The Northern brown bandicoot is a host of the Acanthocephalan intestinal parasite Australiformis semoni . [8]

Life history

The northern brown bandicoot diligently marks and retains its territory. It has scent glands on the ears, mouth, pouch, and cloaca. [4] This solitary marsupial is aggressive only towards others of its species. If a bandicoot is startled in its nesting site, it will flee. Hardly ever will the northern brown bandicoot defend itself unless two males confront one another over territorial rights. Then, either a male is killed or one male becomes subordinate to the other and avoids confrontation. The subordinate male also forfeits to the dominant male all sexual relations with local females. [9] Bandicoots are not social animals and do not live in groups, with the exception of mother and her young.

The northern brown bandicoot breeds throughout the year. An average litter consists of 2 to 4 young. Being marsupials, the newborns are naked and immature and thus undergo extensive development within the mother's pouch. [10] The gestation period (12.5 days) is the shortest recorded for any mammal. [3] Bandicoots are also the only metatherian marsupials that have placentas similar to eutherian mammals. Juveniles are weaned at 60 days post partum. By this time, the marsupial young are capable of sustaining endothermy on their own. [10] I. macrourus have a lifespan of approximately two years.

Female bandicoots produce between 8 and 11 litters in their lifetime. [11] Male bandicoots don't play a significant role in the care of juvenile I. macrourus.

The name bandicoot is based on their rather ratlike appearance. The name comes from a corruption of an Indian word "pandi-kokku" signifying "pig-rat". [12]

Conservation status

Over the past century, populations of the northern brown bandicoot have decreased after the European introduction of rabbits and livestock into Australia. This dramatically heightened the direct competition for food and habitat. Bandicoot populations further suffered after the introduction of the fox and cat, both predators of small animals. [4] Northern brown bandicoot populations in the Northern Territory are showing considerable declines, with one study in the Northern Territory finding a 35% reduction in the breadth of occupied environmental space. [13] As there was only a small (1-2%) reduction in their extent of occurrence, the study concluded that the species is contracting to areas of higher rainfall, lower fire frequency, and higher vegetation cover. [13]

In Aboriginal language and culture

The Northern brown bandicoot is known as yok to the Kunwinjku people of western Arnhem Land, [14] [15] [16] and for those still living on their country is an important food. It is stuffed with hot coals and bush herbs then covered with paperbark and cooked in a ground oven. [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echidna</span> Family of mammals

Echidnas, sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes belonging to the family Tachyglossidae, living in Australia and New Guinea. The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the only surviving members of the order Monotremata. The diet of some species consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the American true anteaters or to hedgehogs. Their young are called puggles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peramelemorphia</span> Order of mammals

The order Peramelemorphia includes the bandicoots and bilbies. All members of the order are endemic to Australia-New Guinea and most have the characteristic bandicoot shape: a plump, arch-backed body with a long, delicately tapering snout, very large upright ears, relatively long, thin legs, and a thin tail. Their size varies from about 140 grams up to 4 kilograms, but most species are about one kilogram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bandicoot</span> Marsupial endemic to the Australia–New Guinea region

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 Archipelago to the east and Seram and Halmahera to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern quoll</span> Species of marsupial native to Australia

The northern quoll, also known as the northern native cat, the North Australian native cat or the satanellus is a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short-nosed bandicoot</span> Genus of marsupials

The short-nosed bandicoots are members of the order Peramelemorphia. These marsupials can be found across Australia, although their distribution can be patchy. Genetic evidence suggests that short-nosed bandicoots diverged from the related long-nosed species around eight million years ago, during the Miocene epoch, and underwent a rapid diversification around three million years ago, during the late Pliocene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peramelidae</span> Family of marsupials

The marsupial family Peramelidae contains the extant bandicoots. They are found throughout Australia and New Guinea, 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, was so different from the other species, it was recently moved into its own family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern brown bandicoot</span> Species of marsupial

The southern brown bandicoot is a short-nosed bandicoot, a type of marsupial, found mostly in southern Australia. A subspecies in Western Australia was also known as the quenda in South Western Australia. This subspecies was elevated to species in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fawn antechinus</span> Species of marsupial

The fawn antechinus is a species of small carnivorous marsupial found in northern Australia. It is the only Antechinus to be found in the Northern Territory and has a patchy, restricted range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden bandicoot</span> Species of marsupial

The golden bandicoot is a short-nosed bandicoot found in northern Australia. It is the smallest of its genus, and is distinguished from the brown bandicoots by its golden colouring and much smaller size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long-nosed bandicoot</span> Species of mammal

The long-nosed bandicoot, a marsupial, is a species of bandicoot found in eastern Australia, from north Queensland along the east coast to Victoria. Around 40 centimetres (16 in) long, it is sandy- or grey-brown with a long snouty nose. Omnivorous, it forages for invertebrates, fungi and plants at night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock-haunting ringtail possum</span> Species of marsupial

The rock-haunting ringtail possum, also known as the rock ringtail possum, is a species of Australian possum. It is found in rocky escarpments in the Kimberley, Arnhem Land and Gulf of Carpentaria across Western Australia and Northern Territory and just passing the Queensland border. It is also found on Groote Eylandt. It is the only species in the genus Petropseudes, but is part of the group including the common ringtail possum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agile wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

The agile wallaby, also known as the sandy wallaby, is a species of wallaby found in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. It is the most common wallaby in north Australia. The agile wallaby is a sandy colour, becoming paler below. It is sometimes solitary and at other times sociable and grazes on grasses and other plants. The agile wallaby is not considered threatened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black wallaroo</span> Species of marsupial

The black wallaroo, also known as Woodward's wallaroo, is a species of macropod restricted to a small, mountainous area in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, between South Alligator River and Nabarlek. It classified as near threatened, mostly due to its limited distribution. A large proportion of the range is protected by Kakadu National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short-eared rock-wallaby</span> Species of marsupial

The short-eared rock-wallaby is a species of rock-wallaby found in northern Australia, in the northernmost parts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It is much larger than its three closest relatives, the eastern short-eared rock-wallaby, the nabarlek and the monjon.

The dusky rat is an indigenous species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern brushtail possum</span> Species of marsupial

The northern brushtail possum is a nocturnal marsupial inhabiting northern Australia. The northern brushtail possum is sometimes considered a species, however more often than not is considered a subspecies of the common brushtail possum.

Australiformis is a monotypic genus of acanthocephalans containing a single species, Australiformis semoni, that infests marsupials in Australia and New Guinea. Its body consists of a proboscis armed with hooks which it uses to pierce and hold the gut wall of its host, and a long trunk. This genus resembles species in the genus Moniliformis but is characterized by a lack of spiral muscles in the outer wall of the proboscis receptacle. The proboscis is armed with 12 rows of 13 to 15 hooks which are used to attach themselves to the small or large intestines of the host. The female worms range from 95 to 197 millimetres long, virtually all of which is the trunk, and 1.75 to 3.5 millimetres wide. There is pronounced sexual dimorphism in this species as females are around twice the size of the males whose trunks range from 46 to 80 millimetres long and 2 millimetres (0.079 in) wide. Infestation by A. semoni may cause debilitating inflammation of the stomach (gastritis) with granulomatous ulcers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savanna glider</span> Species of Australian marsupial

The savanna glider is a species of arboreal gliding possum in the genus Petaurus.

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References

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  14. Garde, Murray. "yok". Bininj Kunwok Online Dictionary. Bininj Kunwok Regional Language Centre. Retrieved 31 Oct 2021.
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  17. Kunwinjku elders, personal comment
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