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Animal Info - Western Barred Bandicoot
(Other Names: 袋狸; 條紋袋狸,
ニシシマバンディクート,
Bandicoot de Bougainville, Barred Bandicoot, Little
Barred Bandicoot, Long Nosed Bandicoot, Marl, Péramèle à Bandes de L´ouest,
Tejón Marsupial Rayado, Westaustralischer Streifenbeuteldachs)
Perameles bougainville (P. fasciata, P. myosura and P. m. notina)
Contents
1. Profile (Picture)
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, History of
Distribution, Threats and Reasons for Decline)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Weight, Habitat, Birth Season, Birth
Rate, Diet, Behavior, Social
Organization, Density and Range)
5. References
Profile
Pictures: Western
Barred Bandicoot #1 (40 Kb JPEG) (Milamba
Aust.); Western
Barred Bandicoot #2 (43 Kb JPEG)
The Western barred bandicoot weighs 190 - 250 g (6.8 - 8.9 oz). It formerly occurred
over much of southern Australia in semi-arid and arid
areas with a variety of vegetation types. In its one remaining habitat, on Bernier and
Dorre Islands, it is especially abundant in sandhills behind beaches. It is insectivorous and usually obtains its food by
digging. It is mainly nocturnal, usually emerging at
dusk. One to three young per litter are born, with two being the most common.
The Western barred bandicoot formerly occurred in Australia
from Western Australia east through southern South Australia to western New South Wales
and northwest Victoria. It was last recorded on the mainland in 1922. As of 1970, since no
specimens had been found for many years it was presumed extinct. By 1983, it had been
rediscovered on Bernier and Dorre Islands and as of 1996 is only found on those islands.
Reasons for its decline have included predation by introduced foxes and feral cats, competition from livestock and introduced
rabbits, habitat clearing and degradation, and changed fire regimes.
Tidbits
*** The Western barred bandicoot has a backwards-opening pouch, possibly to prevent the
pouch from becoming soiled when the bandicoot digs the hollow in which it makes its nest.
Status and Trends
- 1960's: Insufficiently Known
- 1980's: Rare
- 1994: Endangered
- 1996 - 2004: Endangered (Criteria: B1+3a) (Population Trend: Decreasing)
(IUCN 2004)
Countries Where the Western Barred Bandicoot Is Currently Found:
2004: Occurs in Australia. (IUCN
2004)
History of Distribution:
The Western barred bandicoot formerly occurred in Australia
from near Onslow in Western Australia south to near Perth and east through southern South
Australia to western New South Wales and northwest Victoria, as well as Bernier and Dorre
Islands in Shark Bay, Western Australia. It had disappeared in New South Wales by the
1860's, and it was last recorded on the mainland in Western Australia in 1909 at Onslow
and in South Australia at Ooldea in 1922. As of 1970, since no specimens had been found
for many years it was presumed extinct. By 1983, it had been rediscovered on Bernier and
Dorre Islands and as of 1996 is only found on those islands.
Threats and Reasons for Decline:
Reasons for its decline have included predation by introduced foxes and feral cats, competition from livestock and introduced
rabbits, habitat clearing and degradation, and changed fire regimes.
Data on Biology and Ecology
The Western barred bandicoot weighs 190 - 250 g (6.8 - 8.9 oz).
Habitat:
The Western barred bandicoot formerly occurred over much of southern Australia in semi-arid and arid areas with a variety of
vegetation types. These included plains and sand ridges with woodlands, open saltbush and
bluebush plains, desert acacia, stony hills, dense scrub and heath. In its one remaining
habitat, on Bernier and Dorre Islands, it is especially abundant in sandhills behind
beaches, although it also occurs in grasslands and scrub communities on vegetated dunes,
on sandplain, and among travertine outcrops.
The Western barred bandicoot is one of the species that live in the Southwest
Australia Biodiversity
Hotspot (Cons.
Intl.).
Birth Season:
Mating occurs mainly in the autumn and winter.
Birth Rate:
1 to 3 young per litter, with 2 being the most common.
Diet:
The Western barred bandicoot is omnivorous,
eating insects, seeds, roots, herbs and small animals. It usually obtains its food by
digging.
Behavior:
The Western barred bandicoot is usually nocturnal,
spending the daytime in a nest beneath a low shrub or tussock, although it has
occasionally been seen in the daytime.
Social Organization:
Western barred bandicoots usually occupy a nest alone, although on occasion two animals
are found together. It has also been reported that they can become belligerent towards
each other.
Density and Range:
On Dorre Island, Western barred bandicoots were found to have overlapping home ranges, each containing several nest sites
located beneath low shrubs or spinifex clumps. (Menkhorst 1995)
References
Burbidge & McKenzie 1989, Burton & Pearson 1987, Cons.
Intl., Flannery 1990, IUCN 1966,
IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a,
IUCN 2004, Kennedy 1992,
Maxwell et al. 1996, Menkhorst 1995, Milamba
Aust., Nowak
& Paradiso 1983, Philip & Fisher 1970
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