Southern Brown Bandicoot
The southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) is a stocky, short-eared marsupial of heathlands and forests in southern Australia. It digs conical pits as it forages for insects and fungi.
The southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) is a stocky, short-eared marsupial of heathlands and forests in southern Australia. It digs conical pits as it forages for insects and fungi.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Southern Brown Bandicoot in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Mammals lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Truffle Dispersers
Bandicoots eat underground fungi (truffles) and spread their spores in their droppings. Many trees rely on these fungi for nutrients, so bandicoots help keep forests healthy.
Losing Ground
Habitat clearance, fire changes and predation by foxes and cats have reduced the species, which has regional protection status in Australia.
Placental Marsupials
Bandicoots have a placenta unusual among marsupials and a short gestation. See Eastern Barred Bandicoot.
Southern Brown Bandicoot at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Isoodon obesulus |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Peramelemorphia |
| Family | Peramelidae |
| Field Guide group | Mammals: Marsupialia (Metatherians) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Rabbit-sized digger with coarse brown fur, a short pointed snout, small round ears, and a pouch that opens backward to keep soil out. |
| IUCN Red List status | Least Concern (LC), assessed 2008 |
| Order | Peramelemorphia |
| Foraging | Digs conical pits |