334 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
Insects and worms, in addition to a main diet of vegetable matter, contribute to the bandicoot’s 
somewhat heterogeneous menu. 
The wood- and root-boring larvae of a moth which infests the Australian wattle- or acacia- 
trees are a very favourite food with several of the species, and it is worthy of remark that 
the bandicoots are not alone in displaying a penchant for this delicacy. Under the title of 
“bardies”” they are collected and highly esteemed for food by the natives of Western Australia, 
who eat them either cooked or raw. These larve are, moreover, acceptable to many European 
palates, and the writer has witnessed little faggot-like bundles of them brought round by the 
natives to the hotels at Geraldton, Western Australia, for sale or barter to chance customers. 
It may be observed in this connection that the analogous wood-boring larve of the goat-moth, 
which were kept and specially fattened for the occasion, constituted one of the dainty dishes of 
the luxurious Romans. 
One of the commonest species found in Tasmania is known as the BANDED or STRIPED- 
BACKED BANDICOOT, being so named on account of the characteristic markings of its fur. The 
general ground-colour of the coat is an almost equal admixture of black and yellow hairs, the 
black tint, however, prevailing on the back, and the lighter one on the sides. The hind- 
quarters are, however, variegated by the presence of some three or four broad transverse stripes 
that are almost entirely black, while the intervening spaces are a light whitish yellow. A 
few shorter stripes are sometimes continued as far as the root of the tail, this appendage also 
having a dark line running along its upper surface. The head is of a somewhat lighter tint 
than the remainder of the body, while the breast, abdomen, and feet are white, slightly 
tinged with grey. The transversely striped pattern of ornamentation of the hindquarters 
of this bandicoot is of interest with relation to the circumstance that a similarly located 
banded variegation of the fur occurs also in the Tasmanian wolf, or thylacine, and in the 
banded ant-eater, described in a following section. As a colour-pattern it would appear -to 
be quite peculiar to these marsupials, no such restriction of the markings occurring among the 
higher or placental mammals. In the South African suricate, a member of the Ichneumon 
Tribe, in which the nearest approach to this dorsal banding is met with, the stripes are 
equally developed as far forward as the base of the neck. 
Both the banded and other species of bandicoots are extremely swift and active in their 
movements, and are at the same time noted for the singularity of their gait. This consists 
of a half-running and half-jumping action, induced by the peculiar structure of their feet and 
greater length of the hind legs, which are modified on a plan intermediate between that of 
the kangaroos and the dasyures, or native cats. The back of the animal while running being 
highly arched, adds to the grotesque- 
ness of itsappearance. Like the native 
cats, the pouch in the bandicoots 
opens backwards; it is furnished 
with eight teats, but not more than 
two young are usually produced at 
a birth. 
The striped-backed bandicoot is 
not infrequently adopted as a house- 
hold pet, in spite of its notorious 
garden depredations. When thus 
domesticated, it appears to be capable 
of developing a strong attachment for 
: its owner. One that was owned by 
Photo by W, Saville-Kent, F.ZS, ~—1 friends of the writer especially attached 
itself to the lady of the house. It was 
acquired when quite young, having 
Bandicoots, although larger, have somewhat the appearance of shrews escaped from the pouch of an adult 
t 
LONG-NOSED AUSTRALIAN BANDICOOT 
