Southern brown bandicoot

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Southern brown bandicoot [1]  
Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) 2, Vic, jjron, 09.01.2013.jpg
Foraging adult
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. obesulus
Binomial name
Isoodon obesulus
(Shaw, 1797)
Subspecies
Southern Brown Bandicoot area.png
Southern brown bandicoot range
Synonyms
  • Didelphis obesula [4]
  • Perameles obesula [5]

The southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) 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 (from the Noongar word 'kwinda'). [6] This subspecies was elevated to species in 2018. [7]

Contents

Taxonomy

George Shaw described the species as Didelphis obesula in 1797. While some authorities list as few as two subspecies (I. o. obesulus and I. o. nauticus), there are currently five recognised species: [3]

Description

19th-century illustration A hand-book to the marsupialia and monotremata (Plate XXIII) (6008902402).jpg
19th-century illustration

Southern brown bandicoots have a stocky body with a short snout and short, rounded ears. They show sexual dimorphism, with females being smaller than males. On average, males measure 50 cm (20 in) in total length, and weigh up to 1.2 kg (2.6 lb), while females measure 40 cm (16 in) and weigh no more than 1 kg (2.2 lb). They have coarse, bristly hair that is grizzled and coloured a dark greyish to yellowish brown, with the undersides a creamy-white or yellowish grey. The tail is relatively short, measuring about 13 cm (5.1 in) in length, and is brown above and white below. [6] [5]

There are five toes on each foot, although, as in many other marsupials, they are syndactylous, with the second and third toes of the hind foot are fused along almost their entire length. The toes end in sturdy claws, except for the first digits of the fore feet and the fifth digits of the hind feet, which are tiny are vestigial. The pouch in females opens to the rear, and contains eight teats arranged in a partial circle. [5]

Juvenile Southern Brown Bandicoot juvenile.jpg
Juvenile

Distribution and habitat

Once common throughout many parts of coastal Australia, today southern brown bandicoots have a more limited distribution. An isolated population exists at the north-eastern part of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, but all other surviving animals are found in the southern half of the country. In New South Wales they are considered rare, and are primarily restricted to the extreme south-east of the state and to two national parks north of Sydney. In Victoria, they are more common, being found along the whole length of the coast and at up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in the Grampian and Dandenong mountains. [5]

In South Australia, they inhabit the Eyre and Fleurieu peninsulas, the extreme southeast, and Kangaroo Island. [9] Isolated and increasingly restricted populations are known from south-western Western Australia. [3] However, southern brown bandicoots are most common in Tasmania, where they are found across almost the entire island. They are also currently found on Inner Sister Island but have been extirpated from many other small Tasmanian islands where they once lived. [5]

Within these regions, southern brown bandicoots inhabit open forest, scrub, and heathland, especially where there is extensive ground cover by shrubs or mat-rushes. [5] [10] I. o. obesulus has shown a preference for the margins of artificial waterways over drier habitats. [11]

Biology and behaviour

Southern brown bandicoots are nocturnal and omnivorous, feeding on insects, spiders, worms, plant roots, ferns, and fungi. [10] They spend very little time drinking, being able to obtain sufficient water from their diet alone. [12] Although their native predators include barn owls, tiger snakes, and quolls, the bandicoots do not avoid the odour of these animals, which may make them vulnerable to predation. [13] They do, however, typically avoid one another, living solitary lives in non-overlapping home ranges that typically vary from 1 to 5 hectares (2.5 to 12.4 acres), depending on the local conditions. If males encounter one another, the more dominant individual leaps onto the back of the other, scratching with its claws. Because the skin of bandicoots is unusually thick, this results in hair loss, but little permanent injury to the defeated male. [5]

They spend much of the night searching for food, which the detect primarily by scent, sniffing the ground before digging into with their claws. They pursue any prey that escapes, holding it down with their forepaws as they consume it. The digging behaviour is considered a critical component in the maintenance of the ecosystems in which they live. It is estimated that a single bandicoot displaces around 3.9 tonnes of soil each year. [14] They spend the day sleeping in well-concealed nests of shredded vegetation. [5] Both sexes possess scent glands between the ears that are apparently used in intra-species communication and become enlarged during the breeding season. [15]

The Southern brown bandicoot is a host of the Acanthocephalan intestinal parasite Australiformis semoni . [16]

Life history

Reproduction is closely linked to local rainfall pattern, and many brown bandicoots breed all year around, giving birth to up to four litters a year. [17] Gestation lasts less than fifteen days, and perhaps as few as twelve, and typically results in the birth of two or three young, although litters of up to five have been reported; [5] larger mothers tend to give birth to larger litters. [18]

The young weigh just 350 mg (5.4 gr) at birth, remain in the pouch for about the first 53 days of life, and are fully weaned at around 60 days. Growth and maturation is relatively rapid among marsupials, with females becoming sexually mature at four to five months of age, and males at six or seven months. Lifespan in the wild is probably no more than four years. [5]

Conservation status

The southern brown bandicoot is currently classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. [2] However, populations have declined markedly and become much more fragmented in the time since European expansion on the Australian mainland. In many areas of its range the species is threatened locally, while it may be common where rainfall is high enough and vegetation cover is thick enough. Apart from habitat fragmentation, the species is under pressure from introduced predators such as the red fox and feral cats. [2] It has been reintroduced to some lower rainfall areas where there is protection against cat and fox predation – one such site being Wadderin Sanctuary in the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia, 300 km east of Perth.

In national assessment, the southern brown bandicoot is currently regarded as Endangered on the mainland as a whole, and Vulnerable in South Australia. [19]

Related Research Articles

<i>Macrotis</i> Genus of mammals

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.

<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">Southern pig-footed bandicoot</span> Small species of herbivorous marsupial in the genus Chaeropus, the pig-footed bandicoots

The southern pig-footed bandicoot was a small species of herbivorous marsupial in the genus Chaeropus, the pig-footed bandicoots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australidelphia</span> Superorder of marsupials

Australidelphia is the superorder that contains roughly three-quarters of all marsupials, including all those native to Australasia and a single species — the monito del monte — from South America. All other American marsupials are members of the Ameridelphia. Analysis of retrotransposon insertion sites in the nuclear DNA of a variety of marsupials has shown that the South American monito del monte's lineage is the most basal of the superorder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brush-tailed phascogale</span> Species of mammal

The brush-tailed phascogale, also known by its Australian native name tuan, the common wambenger, the black-tailed mousesack or the black-tailed phascogale, is a rat-sized arboreal carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, characterized by a tuft of black silky hairs on the terminal portion of its tail. Males of this species do not live past the age of one, as they die after reproducing.

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

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.

<i>Chaeropus</i> Extinct genus of marsupials

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.

<i>Perameles</i> Genus of marsupials

Perameles is a genus of marsupials of the order Peramelemorphia. They are referred to as long-nosed bandicoots or barred bandicoots.

<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">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">Western barred bandicoot</span> Species of marsupial

The Western barred bandicoot, also known as the Shark Bay bandicoot or 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 sanctuaries on the mainland.

<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">Western pygmy possum</span> Species of marsupial

The western pygmy possum, also known as the southwestern pygmy possum or the mundarda, is a small marsupial found in Australia. Genetic studies indicate its closest relative is probably the eastern pygmy possum, from which its ancestors diverged around eight million years ago.

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.

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

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.

References

  1. ↑ Groves, C.P. (2005). "Order Peramelemorphia". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 39. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  2. 1 2 3 Friend, T.; Morris, K.; van Weenen, J.; Winter, J.; Menkhorst, P. (2008). "Isoodon obesulus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2008: e.T40553A10333481. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T40553A10333481.en .
  3. 1 2 3 "Isoodon obesulus obesulus — Southern Brown Bandicoot (eastern), Southern Brown Bandicoot (south-eastern)". Species Profile and Threats Database. Australian Government, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  4. ↑ "Subspecies Isoodon obesulus obesulus (Shaw, 1797)". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Government. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Driessen, M.M.; Rose, R.K. (December 2015). "Isoodon obesulus (Peramelemorphia: Peramelidae)". Mammalian Species. 47 (929): 112–123. doi: 10.1093/mspecies/sev012 .
  6. 1 2 "Quenda" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-20. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  7. ↑ Jackson, S. M.; Baker, A. M.; Eldridge, M. D. B.; Fisher, D. O.; Frankham, G. J.; Lavery, T. H.; MacDonald, A. J.; Menkhorst, P. W.; Phillips, M. J.; Potter, S.; Rowe, K. C.; Travouillon, K. J.; Umbrello, L. S. (2022-10-12). "The importance of appropriate taxonomy in Australian mammalogy". Australian Mammalogy. 45 (1): 13–23. doi: 10.1071/AM22016 . ISSN   1836-7402. S2CID   252886788.
  8. ↑ Travouillon, Kenny J.; Phillips, Matthew J. (2018-02-07). "Total evidence analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of bandicoots and bilbies (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia): reassessment of two species and description of a new species". Zootaxa. 4378 (2): 224–256. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4378.2.3. ISSN   1175-5334. PMID   29690027.
  9. ↑ Paull, D. (1995). "The distribution of the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus obesulus) in South Australia". Wildlife Research. 22 (5): 585–599. doi:10.1071/WR9950585.
  10. 1 2 Keiper, P.; Johnson, C.N. (June 2004). "Diet and habitat preference of the Cape York short-nosed bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus peninsulae) in north-east Queensland". Wildlife Research. 31 (3): 259–265. doi:10.1071/WR02030.
  11. ↑ Bruce, Matthew J.; Bryant, David B.; Kohout, Michele; Macak, Phoebe V.; Batpurev, Khorloo; Sinclair, Steve J. (26 July 2022). "Southern brown bandicoots, Isoodon obesulus obesulus, occupy the margins of artificial waterways, in preference to bushland remnants or roadside vegetation". Wildlife Research. doi:10.1071/WR21122. S2CID   251113986.
  12. ↑ Larcombe, A.N. (2003). "Activity rhythms of southern brown bandicoots Isoodon obesulus (Marsupialia: Peramelidae) in captivity". Australian Mammalogy. 25 (1): 81–86. doi: 10.1071/AM03081 .
  13. ↑ Mella, V.S.A.; Cooper, C.E.; Davies, S.J.J.F. (December 2010). "Predator odour does not influence trappability of southern brown bandicoots (Isoodon obesulus) and common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula)". Australian Journal of Zoology. 58 (5): 267–272. doi:10.1071/ZO10049.
  14. ↑ Valentine, Leonie E; Anderson, Hannah; Hardy, Giles E; Fleming, Patricia A (22 May 2013). "Foraging activity by the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) as a mechanism for soil turnover" (PDF). Australian Journal of Zoology . 60 (6): 419–423. doi:10.1071/ZO13030. S2CID   85392260.
  15. ↑ Stoddard, D.M. (1980). "Observations on the structure and function of cephalic skin glands in bandicoots (Marsupialia: Peramelidae)". Australian Journal of Zoology. 28 (1): 33–41. doi:10.1071/ZO9800033.
  16. ↑ Schmidt, Gerald D.; Edmonds, Stanley J. (1989). "Australiformis semoni (Linstow, 1898) n. Gen., n. Comb. (Acanthocephala: Moniliformidae) from Marsupials of Australia and New Guinea". The Journal of Parasitology. 75 (2): 215–7. doi:10.2307/3282769. JSTOR   3282769. PMID   2926590.
  17. ↑ Whitfield, Philip (1998). The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Animals. New York: Marshall Editions Development Limited. p. 24.
  18. ↑ Stoddart, D.M.; Braithwaite, R.W. (1979). "A strategy for utilization of heathland habitat by the brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus; Marsupialia, Peramelidae)". Journal of Animal Ecology. 48 (1): 165–179. doi:10.2307/4107. JSTOR   4107.
  19. ↑ "Informing Biodiversity Conservation for the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Region, South Australia" (PDF). Department for Environment and Heritage, Government of South Australia.
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