Macrotis is a genus of desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores known as bilbies or rabbit-bandicoots; they are members of the order Peramelemorphia. At the time of European colonisation of Australia, there were two species. The lesser bilby became extinct in the 1950s; the greater bilby survives but remains endangered. It is currently listed as a vulnerable species. The greater bilby is on average 55 cm (22 in) long, excluding the tail, which is usually around 29 cm (11 in) long. Its fur is usually grey or white; it has a long, pointy nose and very long ears, hence the reference of its nickname to rabbits.
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.
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.
The desert bandicoot is an extinct bandicoot of the arid country in the centre of Australia.
The southern pig-footed bandicoot was a small species of herbivorous marsupial in the genus Chaeropus, the pig-footed bandicoots.
The northern brown bandicoot, 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.
The eastern barred bandicoot 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 genus Perameles. It is distinguishable from its partially-sympatric congener – the long-nosed bandicoot – via three or four dark horizontal bars found on its rump. In Tasmania, it is relatively abundant. The mainland population in Victoria is struggling and is subject to ongoing conservation endeavors.
Chaeropus, known as the pig-footed bandicoots, is a genus of small marsupials that became extinct during the 20th century. They were the only members of the family Chaeropodidae in order Peramelemorphia, with unusually thin legs, yet were able to move rapidly. Two recognised species inhabited dense vegetation on the arid and semiarid plains of Australia. The genus' distribution range was later reduced to an inland desert region, where it was last recorded in the 1950s; it is now presumed extinct.
Perameles is a genus of marsupials of the order Peramelemorphia. They are referred to as long-nosed bandicoots or barred bandicoots.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Galadi is an extinct genus of predatory bandicoot from Oligo-Miocene deposits of Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland, Australia. It was first named by K.J. Travouillon, Y. Gurovich, R.M.D. Beck and J. Muirhead in 2010 and the type species is Galadi speciosus; additional three species, G. adversus, G. amplus and G. grandis, were described in 2013. The genus is represented by three well-preserved skulls and several isolated maxillae and dentaries. Its body mass would have been close to two pounds, making it relatively large for its family. The combination of body size, robustness and short, stout skull indicates that Galadi would have been able to take relatively large prey for its size, though the morphology of its molars indicates it may have been omnivorous.
Bulungu is an extinct genus of bandicoot-like mammal from Oligo-Miocene deposits of Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland, and the Etadunna Formation, Australia. It was first named by Gurovich et al. (2013) and the type species is Bulungu palara. Two additional species, Bulungu campbelli and Bulungu minkinaensis, were also described in 2013. Bulungu muirheadae is the oldest fossil bandicoot recovered to date. An additional three species Bulungu minkinaensis, Bulungu pinpaensis, and Bulungu westermani were named by Travouillon, Beck & Case (2021) allowing for placement of the genus in the superfamily Yaraloidea.
The Nullarbor barred bandicoot is an extinct species of bandicoot that was native to the arid Nullarbor Plain in southern Australia. It is also called the butterfly bandicoot for the dark brown patch on its rump, which resembles a butterfly. It was described in 2018 based on existing skins and osteological material within museum collections in Australia.
The quenda, also known as the western brown bandicoot, is a small marsupial species endemic to South Western Australia.
Perameles myosuros, the south-western barred bandicoot or marl, is a recently extinct species of bandicoot that was native to the southern parts of Western Australia. Initially described in 1841 it was later made a subspecies of the extant Perameles bougainville before being restored to species level in 2018, based on museum specimens. Of particular note was that the females were significantly larger than the males in P. myosuros, which is an unusual trait amongst mammals, whereas the sexes were the same size in P. bougainville.
