SPECIES OF MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC AREA 21 



pouch opens backward. The less specialized bandicoots occur 

 in New Guinea and nearby islands ; more specialized types — the 

 rabbit bandicoot and the pig-footed bandicoot — are found in 

 Australia only. 



The Australian Bandicoot (Perameles), which includes also 

 the banded bandicoots of southern Australia, has rather coarse 

 gray-brown pelage and moderately large ears. These animals 

 are nocturnal insect-eaters, and generally inoffensive. Their 

 total length is about twenty inches. 



The Spiny Bandicoot of New Guinea (Echymipera), also 

 gray-brown, occurs all over that island below three thousand 

 feet and also on the Bismarcks, Japan, Waigeu, Aru, and Kei. 

 The size is variable — from ten to twenty inches. 



The Long-legged Bandicoot {Peroryctes raff ray ana) oc- 

 curs only in New Guinea. The adult size is about thirty inches 

 from nose to tip of tail, of which the tail accounts for about 

 eight inches. The mountain bandicoot, a smaller relation (P. 

 dorsalis), has finer fur and a black stripe along the middle of 

 the back. 



The Ceram Bandicoot (Rhynchomeles) is much like Pero- 

 ryctes. 



The Short-faced Bandicoots (Isoodon) are light gray-brown 

 in color. The hair is wiry and not at all spiny. The tail is pro- 

 portionally long. The total length is eighteen inches, of which 

 the tail measures seven inches. Widely dispersed in northern 

 Australia, with representation in the savannas of southern New 

 Guinea and Port Moresby, these bandicoots are characteristic 

 of grassy regions. 



The Shrew Bandicoot (Microperoryctes), found only in the 

 mountains of Dutch New Guinea, is black. It is exceptionally 

 small, measuring about nine inches from nose to tip of tail. 



The Rabbit Bandicoot or Bilby (Macrotis) is one of the 

 oddities of nature. It is a soft-haired, pale gray-brown bandi- 

 coot with white underparts, with a well-haired, moderately 

 long tail and very large, rabbit-like ears. Two kinds are 

 known, both from the southern half of Australia. The total 



