Western barred bandicoot
| Western barred bandicoot | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Marsupialia |
| Order: | Peramelemorphia |
| Family: | Peramelidae |
| Genus: | Perameles |
| Species: | P. bougainville |
| Binomial name | |
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Perameles bougainville Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 |
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| Western Barred Bandicoot range (red—native; pink—reintroduced) |
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The western barred bandicoot (Perameles bougainville), also known as the marl, is a small species of bandicoot found in Australia. It was once widespread across southern Australia from Western Australia to central New South Wales, but it is now found on Bernier, Dorre and Faure islands in Shark Bay, Western Australia, and in captive populations on the mainland including at Barna Mia in Dryandra Woodland.
The western barred bandicoot is much smaller than its relative the eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii), and is darker in its colouring, which is a grizzled brown. It measures about 1.5 feet (46 cm) in length. It has two "bars" across its rump and has a short, tapered tail. It is a solitary and crepuscular hunter, eating insects, spiders, and worms and occasionally tubers and roots. When the bandicoot feels threatened, it typically leaps into the air and then burrows to safety.
This species is currently being re-introduced to nearby mainland areas of Western Australia, where predators such as the red fox are the subject of control programs. It has also been successfully reintroduced into the Arid Recovery Reserve at Roxby Downs in South Australia.
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Wikipedia