#isoodon

[mammalianmammals]

Quenda or Southwestern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon fusciventer), family Peramelidae, order Peramelemorphia, Western Australia

photograph by Matt Laughton

[i-rate-ecoregions]

I encountered a little Quenda out scavenging in public.

They're usually very shy creatures and scamper away when they sense even the slightest danger, but this one didn't seem to care about the people walking past them.

Quendas (Isoodon obesulus) are bandicoots, which means they are marsupials. Not rats.

[corin-tuckers-left-one]

Perameles < Isoodon

Come at me bro

[drhoz]

#1564 - Isoodon obesulus ssp. fusciventer - Quenda

I’m rather surprised that I haven’t covered these before.

Also known as the Southern Brown Bandicoot. As you can see for marsupials they're pretty rat-like, and indeed it seems likely bandicoots were so named after an Indian rodent Bandicota indica that the explorer Bass knew about, in 1799.

Quendas are omnivores (again, like rats), and like all bandicoots, thrive on insects, fruit, seeds, and fungi. These marsupials also enjoy the shortest gestation of any mammal - 11 days - but for some reason still felt the need to independently invent the placenta (not feeling so special NOW, are you 'higher mammals'?). Brown bandicoots breed all year around as long as they have water available. A litter of two to five joeys spend six weeks in the backwards-facing pouch before mum kicks them out. A bit rude, because despite being born with claws - 'milk claws'? - the babies loose them again after reaching the pouch. Probably just as well though, I doubt she'd enjoy being kicked repeatedly in the nipples with their adult claws, once they grow them. They reach breeding age a month after being turfed out, and patrol their territories usually at night, and rest in grassy nests during the day.

Despite the threats posed by cars (as here) and cats (as happened to the last one I rescued) Quendas are quite common in Perth suburbs, and quickly become used to humans, and will forage in daylight hours especially if tomato sandwiches are in the offing.