Northern Brown Bandicoot

About the Northern Brown Bandicoot

The northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus), a marsupial species, is a bandicoot found only on the northern and eastern coasts of Australia and nearby islands, mainly Papua New Guinea. It is not, however, found far inland.

This species can be set apart from other marsupials by two traits; it is both polyprotodont (i.e., several pairs of lower front teeth) and syndactylous. The northern brown bandicoot has typical body and tail lengths of 40 and 15 cm (15.7 and 5.9 in), respectively. On average it weighs 1,200 g (2.6 lb). This marsupial has a thick harsh coat but is not spiny. The dorsal pelage is light brown in appearance with speckled black patterns throughout. On the ventral surface it is solid white. The northern brown bandicoot has a reverse pouch so it won't fill with soil when digging. This bandicoot also has short, rounded ears and a short nose. One can easily mistake the northern brown bandicoot for the southern brown bandicoot. The two species differ in both size, with the northern brown bandicoot larger, and regional locality, in that the southern brown bandicoot is found only on the southern coastline of Australia.

The male is typically 5–7 cm (2.0... Wikipedia →