Mammals
Long-Nosed Bandicoot
Perameles nasuta · also called long-nosed bandicoots
Probing the soil with its long, pointed snout, a long-nosed bandicoot sniffs out a buried grub beneath a suburban garden bed, one of the more delicately built bandicoot species and a surprisingly common nighttime visitor across much of eastern Australia.
Overview
The long-nosed bandicoot, Perameles nasuta, is a slender, scent-driven forager native to forest and grassland habitat across a broad range spanning eastern Australia. Its distinctively elongated snout, small conical digging pits, and comfortable adaptation to suburban gardens make it one of the more frequently encountered native marsupials found close to Australian towns and cities.
A nose built for finding hidden food
Longer and more pointed than that of most other bandicoot species, the long-nosed bandicoot’s snout gives it an especially fine sense of smell for locating buried insects and fungi, a specialised tool for a nightly foraging routine that continues largely unnoticed by the people whose gardens it visits.
Status
Least Concern, remaining widespread across suitable forest and grassland habitat throughout eastern Australia, including many suburban areas.
Long-Nosed Bandicoot: common questions
Why does the long-nosed bandicoot have such a long snout?
This species has a notably long, pointed snout, more elongated than that of many other bandicoot species, well suited to probing soil and leaf litter for buried insects, larvae, and fungi that it locates primarily by scent.
How can you tell the long-nosed bandicoot apart from brown bandicoot species?
This species has a more slender, delicate build and a longer, more pointed snout compared with the stockier brown bandicoot species found across overlapping parts of its range in eastern Australia, making snout shape one of the clearer distinguishing features.
Does the long-nosed bandicoot live in suburban areas?
Yes, this species has adapted successfully to suburban gardens and parks in parts of its range, tolerating close proximity to human development better than many other native marsupials, though it still relies on patches of natural vegetation for shelter.
What does the long-nosed bandicoot eat?
This species feeds on insects, larvae, and fungi, located by scent using its distinctive long snout and dug up from soil and leaf litter using strong foreclaws, leaving behind small conical digging pits as evidence of its foraging.