Pig Footed Bandicoot

There is some disagreement over the taxonomic classification of pig-footed bandicoots. Chaeropus ecaudatus is listed under the subfamily Peramelinae, which includes all of the non-spiny bandicoots. However, some scientists feel that the pig-footed bandicoot deserves a separate subfamilial or even familial status, due to the uniqueness of its physical characteristics. The origination of the name, Chaeropus ecaudatus, is an interesting story. The pig-footed bandicoot received its name from the discovery of a specimen that had lost its tail in a mishap during its life. The describer of this animal assumed it was tailless, when, in fact, C. ecaudatus had the longest tail of all bandicoots. The error was not recognized until it was too late to rename it. Now, with its Latin name, Chaeropus ecaudatus will forever be called a "tailless pig-foot"!

Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical

Much controversy exisits over when C. ecaudatus was last seen. The last reliably dated museum specimen was from 1901. However, the Pintupi people in the central deserts report that it survived there until the 1950's. The collapse of the species seems to have been rapid once the Europeans began settling the continent. Before European settlement, the natives burned small grass areas which soon regenerated, providing a fresh supply of food and shelter for bandicoots. Invasion by Europeans stopped this burning, and consequently, completely changed the pig-footed bandicoot's habitat. The beginning of livestock ranching and the intense grazing of sheep and cattle throughout this species' favored habitats also altered plant composition important to the bandicoot. Although Europeans eventually introduced rabbits, foxes, and cats (which are all competitors for the pig-footed bandicoot), this was not an immediate cause of their extinction; the decline of the pig-footed bandicoot began before these new fauna were introduced (Seebeck, 1990).

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: extinct

The pig-footed bandicoot did not possess any great economic value for humans. However, Australian natives did enjoy its meat as a delicacy, and used its tail tuft as an ornament.

There are many conflicting reports about the diet of C. ecaudatus. Its tooth and intestinal structures imply a more herbivorous diet than most bandicoots. In contrast, the Aborigines report that it ate termites and ants, and may have even been partial to flesh (Strahan, 1995). However, in captivity it ate grass, lettuce, roots, and grasshoppers, confirming a more herbivorous, rather than omnivorous diet (Grzimek, 1990).

Chaeropus ecaudatus was found throughout central and south Australia and in Victoria. No specimens have been seen since the early 20th century.

Biogeographic Regions: australian (Native )

Chaeropus ecaudatus resided in a variety of habitats. In the central deserts it occupied sand dunes and sand plains. In Victoria, it lived in the grassy plains. In other areas, the pig-footed bandicoot favored open woodland containing shrubs and grass.

Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune ; savanna or grassland

Detailed measurements of the pig-footed bandicoot may not be completely reliable; however, the body length has been estimated at 230-260 mm, with a tail length of approximately 100-150 mm. Chaeropus ecaudatus had course, orange-brown fur on the dorsal side of its body, and a lighter fawn color on its underside. Its rather long orange-brown tail ended in a black tuft. It had a compact body and pointed head, similar to other bandicoots, with long "rabbity" ears. The pig-footed bandicoot's legs and feet, however, were much different than other species in its family. Both its forelegs and hindlegs were long and thin, ending in particularly unique feet. Chaeropus ecaudatus was syndactylus, its forefeet having only two functional toes with hoof-like nails, markedly resembling those of a pig. On its hindfeet, the second and third toes were fused, and only the fourth was used in locomotion. The pig-footed bandicoot had about 46-48 teeth inside its long jaws. The incisors were flattened and polyprotodont, and the cheek teeth were selenodont. Its exact dental formula is not reported (Strahan, 1995).

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry

Not much is known about the specifics of C. ecaudatus reproduction, but a pattern can be inferred from the reproduction of other bandicoots. The pig-footed bandicoot possessed 8 teats, but did not carry more than four young per litter. Females had a well developed pouch which opened posteriorly. Bandicoots, in general, have a very short gestation period, around 12 days from conception to paturation. Birth is also very short, probably lasting less than 10 minutes, with the young weighing only about 0.5 grams. Another mating most likely occurred about 50 days after parturation, shortly after the weaning of the first litter. The new litter is born approximately 10 days later. In bandicoots, every suckling has its own teat, and receives the same amount of milk. Towards the end of the pouch period, the young are left in the nest, and approximately 8-10 days later they go foraging or hunting with their mother (Grzimek, 1990).

Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual

The pig-footed bandicoot was placed in the bandicoot family Peramelidae, as the subfamily Chaeropodinae by McKenna and Bell (Wikipedia). Molecular evidence, as well as its distinct form, mean that it is now believed to be the sister group of the rest of the Peramelmorphia and has been assigned its own family Chaeropodidae (Wikipedia). The bandicoot had a body length of about 23-26 cm, with a tail length of about 10-15 cm. It weighed up to 200 g (ASDP). It had a compact body and pointed head, long nose and long "rabbity" ears. It had long, thin legs and was syndactylus, its forefeet having two functional toes with hoof-like nails, resembling those of a pig or deer. On its hindfeet, the second and third toes were fused; only the fourth was used in locomotion. There were about 46-48 teeth inside its long jaws.The incisors were flattened and polyprotodont; the cheek teeth were selenodont. The bandicoot had coarse, pale orange-brown fur on the dorsal side of its body and lighter fawn on its underside. Its orange-brown tail ended in a black tuft. The bandicoot lived in various habitats from Western Australia, through South Australia and the southern part of the Northern Territory, to south-western New South Wales and western Victoria (ADW). Habitats included arid and semi-arid sand dunes and plains in the central deserts and grassy plains in Victoria. In other areas, it favoured semi-arid and arid areas such as open sclerophyll and desert woodland, shrubland, mallee, heath and grassland. The bandicoot was nocturnal (ASDP) and sheltered by the day in a grassy nest (ASDP). It used tactile and chemical perception channels (ADW). Its vision was poor, but its senses of smell and hearing were acute. The tooth and intestinal structures imply a more herbivorous diet than most bandicoots (ADW). Aborigines say it ate termites and ants and may have been partial to flesh (ADW). Captives ate grass, lettuce, roots, and grasshoppers, confirming a more herbivorous, rather than omnivorous diet (ADW). Predators included feral cats, red foxes, dingoes and wedge-tailed eagles (ASDP). The female had 8 teats, but did not carry more than 4 young per litter. Her well developed pouch opened posteriorly. The gestation period was around 12 days from conception to paturation. Birth probably lasted under 10 minutes, with the young weighing about 0.5 g. Every suckling had its own teat and received the same amount of milk. Towards the end of the pouch period, the young are left in the nest and about 8-10 days later they go foraging or hunting with their mother (ADW). Another mating probably occurred about 50 days after parturation, shortly after the weaning of the first litter. Australian natives enjoyed the meat as a delicacy and used the tail tuft as an ornament. They burned small grass areas, which soon regenerated, providing a fresh supply of food and shelter for bandicoots (ADW, Wikipedia). They said it was rare before European settlers arrived (Wikipedia). The species seems to have collapsed rapidly when Europeans began settling Australia and stopped burning small grass areas, completely changing the bandicoot's habitat (ADW, ASDP, IUCN, Wikipedia). Livestock ranching and the intense grazing of sheep and cattle throughout these habitats altered plant composition important to the bandicoot; disease or destruction of habitat by sheep may have played a role (ADW, Wikipedia). Europeans later introduced rabbits, which competed with bandicoots and destroyed their habitat, while foxes and cats were predators,furthering the bandicoot's decline (ADW, ASDP, IUCN); the fox and rabbit hadn't arrived in south-west Western Australia when the bandicoot disappeared from that area, but feral cats were common (Wikipedia). The bandicoot was in serious decline when it came to scientific notice in the mid 19th century (Wikipedia). Local people obtained two specimens for Gerard Krefft in 1857, but Krefft ate one of them (Wikipedia). Only a few specimens were collected in the second part of the 19th century, mostly from northwestern Victoria, but also from arid country in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. By the start of the 20th century, it had become extinct in Victoria and the south-west of Western Australia. The last reliably dated museum specimen was from 1901 (ADW, IUCN, Wikipedia). There are unconfirmed reports of sightings in central Australia during the 1920s (ADW). By 1945 the species vanished from South Australia and was said to be limited to "a slight foothold in central Australia" (Wikipedia).The Pintupi people say that the bandicoot survived in the central Great Sandy and northern Gibson Deserts until the 1950's (ADW, IUCN, Wikipedia). The bandicoot is listed as Extinct as it has not been located since the last specimen was collected in 1901 and there are no indications that it still persists (IUCN). It is listed on CITES Appendix I.

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