Peramelemorphia

Peramelemorphia Fossil range: Late Oligocene–Recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
A short-nosed bandicoot (Isoodon spp.)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Marsupialia Superorder: Australidelphia Order: Peramelemorphia Ameghino, 1889
Families
†Yaralidae Thylacomyidae †Chaeropodidae Peramelidae

The order Peramelemorphia includes the bandicoots and bilbies: it equates approximately to the mainstream of marsupial omnivores. All members of the order are endemic to the twin land masses of 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 the weight of a half-grown kitten: somewhere around one kilogram.

Phylogeny

Placement within Marsupialia

The position of the Peramelemorphia within the marsupial family tree has long been puzzling and controversial. There are two morphological features in the order that appear to show a clear evolutionary link with another marsupial group: the type of foot, and the teeth. Unfortunately, these clear signposts point in opposite directions.

All members of the order are polyprotodont (have several pairs of lower front teeth)—in the case of the Peramelemorphia, three pairs. This suggests that they have evolved within Dasyuromorphia (marsupial carnivores). On the other hand, they also have an unusual feature in their feet: the second and third toes are fused together. This condition is called syndactyly, and is characteristic of the Diprotodontia (the order of marsupial herbivores that includes kangaroos, wombats, possums, and many others).

Attempts to resolve this puzzle include the view that the bandicoot group evolved from the carnivores, retaining the polyprotodont dentition, and independently evolving a syndactyl hind foot; the contrary view that syndactyly is so unusual that it is unlikely to have evolved twice and therefore the bandicoot group must have evolved from a possum-like diprotodont creature, and re-evolved its extra teeth. A third view suggests that the bandicoot group evolved from a primitive carnivore, developed the syndactylous hind foot as a specialisation for climbing, and the diprotodonts then split off and evolved the two-tooth jaw that gives them their name. Recent molecular level investigations do not so far appear to have resolved the puzzle, but do strongly suggest that whatever the relationship of the bandicoot group to the other marsupial orders may be, it is a distant one.

Relationships within Peramelemorphia

Recent molecular analyses have resulted in a phylogenetic reconstruction of the members of Peramelemorphia with quite strong support. The most basal split separates Thylacomyidae (Macrotis) from all other bandicoots. Probably the next to diverge was the recently extinct Chaeropodidae (Chaeropus). The remaining taxa comprise the Peramelidae, which divides into subfamilies Peramelinae (Isoodon and Perameles) and a clade in which the Echymiperinae (Echymipera and Microperoryctes) form a sister group to Peroryctinae (Peroryctes):

Peramelemorphia	Thylacomyidae Macrotis †Chaeropodidae Chaeropus Peramelidae Peramelinae Isoodon Perameles Echymiperinae Echymipera Microperoryctes Peroryctinae Peroryctes

Fossil record

Many specimens of modern peramelemorphian (e.g. Perameles spp. and Isoodon spp.) have been recovered in the fossil record from Pleistocene and Holocene fossil localities. However, very few fossil species have been recovered to date. The first species of fossil peramelemorphian was described by R. A. Stirton in 1955. The specimen Stirton described was a partial lower jaw from the Tirari Desert in Central Australia, Pliocene in age. The lower jaw morphology suggested a relationship with bilbies (Family Thylacomyidae), and was named Ischnodon australis.

It is not until 1976 that Archer and Wade described the next fossil bandicoot. A single upper molar was recovered from the Bluff Downs fossil site, Allingham Formation, in northern Queensland, also Pliocene in age. The tooth was similar to that of species of Perameles, hence why it was named Perameles allinghamensis.

In 1995, the first Miocene species was described from Riversleigh, and was named Yarala burchfieldi by Dr Jeannette Muirhead. The species was represented by several upper and lower jaws, which were smaller than any living bandicoots and had a very primitive dentition. A skull was later recovered in 2000, the first for any fossil peramelemorphian to date. Features of the skull and dentition suggested that Yarala burchfieldi was distinct from other peramelemorphians, and for this reason, a new Superfamily Yaraloidea and Family Yaralidae were erected to classify this species.

In 1997, Muirhead, Dawson and Archer described a new species of Perameles, Perameles bowensis, from teeth recovered from two Pliocene fossil localities, Bow and Wellington Caves. The same species was later reported in 2000 from Chinchilla, Queensland by Mackness and colleagues. In 2002, Price described a new species Perameles, Perameles sobbei, from the Darling Downs (Pleistocene in age), south-eastern Queensland. This species was represented by a lower jaw and a few isolated lower molars. Additional material were later described in 2005 from the same site, including upper molars.

A second species of Yarala, Yarala kida, was described in 2006 by Schwartz. This species was recovered from Kangaroo Well, a late Oligocene site from the Northern Territory in Australia. This species is thought to be even more primitive than Yarala burchfieldi.

The second fossil skull of any fossil peramelemorphian was also recovered from Miocene sites of Riversleigh. In fact, more than one skull of this new species was found (and several lower and upper jaws), and was significantly different from any other bandicoot to erect a new genus, Galadi. The species was named Galadi speciosus by Travouillon and colleagues. It was short-snouted unlike modern bandicoots suggesting that it was more carnivorous than its omnivorous modern relatives. Its relationship to other bandicoots is unclear, but it was likely to be less primitive than Yarala but more primitive than living bandicoots. An additional three species of Galadi were later described in 2013 and named Galadi grandis, Galadi amplus and Galadi adversus.

Gurovich et al. (2013) described a new species of mouse-sized bandicoot from Riversleigh (Queensland) and Kutjamarpu (Southern Australia). The species, named Bulungu palara, is represented by a skull and several lower and upper jaws. Two other species in this genus were also described from the Etadunna Formation in South Australia, Bulungu muirheadae which is the oldest fossil bandicoot recovered to date (about 24 million years old), and Bulungu campbelli.

Bandicoot

Eastern barred bandicoot

Bandicoots are a group of about 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia. They are endemic to Australia.

Etymology

The word itself is often used as a common name for any of them, and is an anglicised form of the Telugu word పందికొక్కు (pandi-kokku), loosely, pig-rat. which originally referred to the unrelated Indian Bandicoot Rat. The other two species of peramelemorphs are the bilbies.

Characteristics

They are one of the few species that have a bifurcated penis.

The embryos of bandicoots, unlike other marsupials, form a placenta-like organ that connects it to the uterine wall. The function of this organ is probably to transfer nutrients from the mother; however the structure is small, compared to those of the Placentalia.

They may also serve as a primary reservoir for Coxiella burnetii. Infection is transmitted among them by ticks. These are then transmitted to domestic animals (cattle, sheep and poultry). The infected domestic animals shed them in urine, faeces, and placental products. It is transmitted to humans causing Q fever by inhalation of aerosols of these materials. Main symptoms may be pneumonia and/or hepatitis.

Classification

Classification within the Peramelemorphia used to be simple. There were thought to be two families in the order—the short-legged and mostly herbivorous bandicoots, and the longer-legged, nearly carnivorous bilbies. In recent years, however, it has become clear that the situation is more complex. First, the bandicoots of the New Guinean and far-northern Australian rainforests were deemed distinct from all other bandicoots and were grouped together in the separate family Peroryctidae. More recently, the bandicoot families were reunited in Peramelidae, with the New Guinean species split into four genera in two subfamilies, Peroryctinae and Echymiperinae, while the "true bandicoots" occupy the subfamily Peramelinae. The only exception is the now extinct Pig-footed bandicoot, which has been given its own family, Chaeropodidae.

• Order Peramelemorphia
  • Unclassified fossil bandicoots
    • • • Genus †Galadi: 4 species
        • Genus †Bulungu: 3 species
  • Superfamily Perameloidea
    • Family Thylacomyidae
      • • Genus Macrotis: 2 species
        • Genus †Ischnodon: 1 species
    • Family †Chaeropodidae: Pig-footed bandicoot
      • • Genus †Chaeropus: 1 species
    • Family Peramelidae
      • Subfamily Peramelinae
        • Genus Isoodon: short-nosed bandicoots
        • Genus Perameles: long-nosed bandicoots
      • Subfamily Peroryctinae
        • Genus Peroryctes: New Guinean long-nosed bandicoots
      • Subfamily Echymiperinae
        • Genus Echymipera: New Guinean spiny bandicoots
        • Genus Microperoryctes: New Guinean mouse bandicoots
        • Genus Rhynchomeles: Ceram Bandicoot
  • Superfamily †Yaraloidea
    • Family †Yaralidae
      • Genus †Yarala: 2 species

Bilby

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Bilby
Greater bilby at Monarto Zoo
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Marsupialia Order: Peramelemorphia Family: Thylacomyidae Bensley, 1903 Genus: Macrotis Reid, 1837
Type species
Perameles lagotis Reid, 1837
Species
Macrotis lagotis † Macrotis leucura † Ischnodon australis † Liyamayi dayi

Bilbies are desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores; they are members of the order Peramelemorphia. Before European colonisation of Australia, there were two species. One became extinct in the 1950s; the other survives but remains endangered.

Etymology of "bilby"

The term bilby is a loanword from the Yuwaalaraay Aboriginal language of northern New South Wales, meaning long-nosed rat. It is known as dalgite in Western Australia, and the nickname pinkie is sometimes used in South Australia. The Wiradjuri of New South Wales also call it "bilby".

Characteristics

Bilbies have the characteristic long bandicoot muzzle and very long ears. They are about 29–55 cm in length. Compared to bandicoots, they have a longer tail, bigger ears, and softer, silky fur. The size of their ears allows them to have better hearing as well. They are nocturnal omnivores that do not need to drink water, as they get all the moisture they need from their food, which includes insects and their larvae, seeds, spiders, bulbs, fruit, fungi, and very small animals. Most food is found by digging or scratching in the soil, and using their very long tongues.

Unlike bandicoots, they are excellent burrowers and build extensive tunnel systems with their strong forelimbs and well-developed claws. A bilby typically makes a number of burrows within its home range, up to about a dozen; and moves between them, using them for shelter both from predators and the heat of the day. The female bilby's pouch faces backwards, which prevents her pouch from getting filled with dirt while she is digging.

Bilbies have a very short gestation period of about 12 – 14 days, one of the shortest among mammals.

Conservation

Greater bilby at Sydney Wildlife World

Bilbies are slowly becoming endangered because of habitat loss and change as well as the competition with other animals. There is a national recovery plan being developed for saving these animals: this program includes breeding in captivity, monitoring populations, and reestablishing bilbies where they once lived. There have been reasonably successful moves to popularise the bilby as a native alternative to the Easter Bunny by selling chocolate Easter Bilbies (sometimes with a portion of the profits going to bilby protection and research). Reintroduction efforts have also begun, with a successful reintroduction into the Arid Recovery Reserve in South Australia in 2000, and plans underway for a reintroduction into Currawinya National Park in Queensland, with a recent success with six bilbies released into the feral-free sanctuary in early February 2006.

Successful reintroductions have also occurred onto Peron Peninsula in Western Australia as a part of Western Shield. Successful reintroductions have also occurred on other conservation lands, including islands and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Scotia and Yookamurra Sanctuaries. There is a highly successful bilby breeding program at Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, near Perth, Western Australia.

Classification

The placement of bilbies within the Peramelemorphia has changed in recent years. Vaughan (1978) and Groves and Flannery (1990) both placed this family within the Peramelidae family. Kirsch et al. (1997) found them to be distinct from the species in Peroryctidae (which is now a subfamily in Peramelidae). McKenna and Bell (1997) also placed it in Peramelidae, but as the sister of Chaeropus in the subfamily Chaeropodinae.

Species

• Genus Macrotis
  • Greater bilby, M. lagotis
  • Lesser bilby, †M. leucura

• Genus †Ischnodon
  • †Ischnodon australis

• Genus †Liyamayi
  • †Liyamayi dayi

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• C. Groves, "Order Primates," "Order Monotremata," (and select other orders). Page(s) 38-42 in D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder, eds., Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press (2005). ISBN 0801882214.
  • Peramelemorphia

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Peramelemorphia/

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Peramelidae/

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Thylacomyidae/classification/

Template:Peramelemorphia

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