Peramelemorphia is an order of Australian marsupial mammals. Members of this order are called peramelemorphs and include bandicoots and bilbies. They are found in Australia and New Guinea, generally in forests, shrublands, grasslands, and savannas, though some species are found in inland wetlands and deserts. They range in size from the Arfak pygmy bandicoot, at plus a tail, to the giant bandicoot, at plus a tail. Peramelemorphs primarily eat insects and fruit, as well as other invertebrates and small vertebrates. Most peramelemorphs do not have population estimates, but the ones that do range from 1,000 to 100,000 mature individuals. The giant bandicoot, David's echymipera, and Seram bandicoot are endangered. The desert bandicoot, lesser bilby, and pig-footed bandicoot were driven to extinction in the mid-1900s.
The nineteen extant species of Peramelemorphia are divided into two families: Peramelidae, containing eighteen species divided between three genera in the subfamily Echymiperinae, two genera in the subfamily Peramelinae, and a single genus in the subfamily Peroryctinae; and Thylacomyidae, containing one extant species in a single genus. Additionally, Peramelemorphia includes the extinct family Chaeropodidae, containing a single species. Dozens of extinct, prehistoric Peramelemorphia species have been discovered, though due to ongoing research and discoveries the exact number and categorization is not fixed.
Conventions
The author citation for the species or genus is given after the scientific name; parentheses around the author citation indicate that this was not the original taxonomic placement. Conservation status codes listed follow the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Range maps are provided wherever possible; if a range map is not available, a description of the peramelemorph's range is provided. Ranges are based on the IUCN Red List for that species unless otherwise noted. All extinct species or subspecies listed alongside extant species went extinct after 1500 CE, and are indicated by a dagger symbol "".
Classification
The order Peramelemorphia consists of nineteen extant species in two extant families, Peramelidae and Thylacomyidae. Peramelidae is divided into three subfamilies: Echymiperinae, containing ten species in three genera; Peramelinae, containing six species in two genera; and Peroryctinae, containing a single species. Thylacomyidae consists of one extant species. Additionally, Peramelemorphia includes the extinct family Chaeropodidae, containing a single species. Three species have been driven to extinction in recent times, all in the mid-1900s: the desert bandicoot in Peramelinae, the lesser bilby in Thylacomyidae, and the pig-footed bandicoot in Chaeropodidae. Many of these species are further subdivided into subspecies. This does not include hybrid species or extinct prehistoric species.
Family Chaeropodidae Genus Chaeropus (pig-footed bandicoots): one species (one extinct)
Family Peramelidae Subfamily Echymiperinae Genus Echymipera (New Guinean spiny bandicoots): five species Genus Microperoryctes (New Guinean mouse bandicoots): four species Genus Rhynchomeles (Seram bandicoot): one species Subfamily Peramelinae Genus Isoodon (short-nosed bandicoots): three species Genus Perameles (long-nosed bandicoots): four species (one extinct) Subfamily Peroryctinae Genus Peroryctes (New Guinean long-nosed bandicoots): two species
Family Thylacomyidae Genus Macrotis (bilbies): two species (one extinct)
Peramelemorphs The following classification is based on the taxonomy described by the reference work Mammal Species of the World (2005), with augmentation by generally accepted proposals made since using molecular phylogenetic analysis, as supported by both the IUCN and the American Society of Mammalogists.
Chaeropodidae
Peramelidae
Subfamily Echymiperinae
Subfamily Peramelinae
Subfamily Peroryctinae
Thylacomyidae
Notes
References Wilson, Reeder, pp. 38–42
Nowak 2005, p. 124
Strahan, p. 173
Strahan, p. 176
Nowak 2005, p. 126
Nowak 2018, p. 208
Nowak 2005, p. 128
Nowak 2018, p. 214
Nowak 2005, p. 130
Nowak 2005, p. 129
Nowak 2005, p. 122
Sources