Pig-footed Bandicoot

Forefeet resembled those of even-toed ungulates

It was above all the feet that distinguished pig-footed bandicoots from other bandicoot species in the order of bandicoots, or peramelemorphs (Peramelemorphia).

The pig-footed bandicoot, from the genus of pig-footed bandicoots, owed its name to the two toes with hoof-like claws on its forefeet, which recalled even-toed ungulates such as pigs. The hind feet consisted of four toes, although it used only one toe for locomotion.

The marsupial species once lived in Australia—as did the already extinct, related lesser bilby. The species occurred in the central and southern part of the country and preferred both deserts and areas with grass and bushes.

Only a few scientists had the opportunity to study living pig-footed bandicoots, so little is known about their behavior, and it is often necessary to rely on oral traditions of Australia’s Indigenous peoples.

For the Blandowski expedition, which took place between 1856 and 1857 to explore Australia’s natural history, the Australian zoologist Johann Ludwig Gerard Krefft collected “about eight” pig-footed bandicoots. Krefft recorded his observations in 1962 in On the vertebrated Animals of the lower Murray and Darling. In it, Krefft also admitted to having eaten the animals “more than once”.

Pig-footed bandicoot – fact sheet

alternative names	Chestnut-eared chaeropus, (Eastern pig-footed bandicoot), (Western pig-footed bandicoot), landwang
scientific names	Chaeropus ecaudatus, Chæropus ecaudatus, Chaeropus ecaudatus ecaudatus, Choeropus ecaudatus, Chaerpus ecaudatus, Chaeropus ecaudatus occidentalis, Chaeropus castanotis, Perameles ecaudatus
original range	Australia
time of extinction	1907 at the earliest
causes of extinction	habitat loss, absence of Aboriginal fire-clearing practices, introduced animals and diseases
IUCN status	extinct

Pig-footed bandicoot always rare

Although the solitary pig-footed bandicoot had a large range within Australia, the species was only rarely encountered, according to Tim Flannery and Peter Schouten in their book A Gap in Nature (2001).

The American naturalist Francis Harper notes in Extinct and Vanishing Mammals of the Old World (1945) that the bandicoot was already rare before the arrival of Europeans on the continent around the 17th century. This is indicated by oral traditions of the Aborigines.

When the Irish naturalist William Ogilby was the first to describe the pig-footed bandicoot scientifically in 1838, the animal species was considered extremely rare. And during the second half of the 19th century, only a handful of specimens were collected, so it is generally assumed that the pig-footed bandicoot became extinct in the early 20th century.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN, the last confirmed sighting of an animal of this species dates from 1901. In An unpublished Drawing of the Pig-footed Bandicoot by John Gould and H. C. Richter (1988), it is stated that a specimen of a pig-footed bandicoot was sighted in 1907 on the western shore of Lake Eyre. In addition, one animal is said to have been killed between Miller’s Creek and Coward Springs in 1920, and remains of another animal are said to have been found in 1927.

The Pintupi, a tribe of Aborigines, claimed that the animals survived into the 1950s in Australia’s Gibson Desert and Great Sandy Desert.

Destruction of habitat led to extinction

In the 19th century, the Australian Aboriginal population declined by around 90 percent because of the introduction of exotic European diseases. The remaining Aborigines were no longer allowed to pursue their traditional land management methods and hunting practices. As a result, the small-scale fire clearings carried out by Aborigines for thousands of years also came to an end. Yet precisely this patchwork of recently burned and freshly greened land served as habitat for the marsupials.

The actual cause of the extinction of the pig-footed bandicoot was therefore probably the fundamental alteration of its habitat, because large parts of the land were converted into pastureland for livestock such as sheep and cattle.

The IUCN also points to predation by introduced animal species such as feral cats and foxes, which are also thought to have contributed to the species’ disappearance.

Eastern and western pig-footed bandicoot?

Francis Harper, mentioned above, distinguishes two subspecies in his 1945 book on extinct mammals: the eastern pig-footed bandicoot (Chaeropus ecaudatus ecaudatus) and the western pig-footed bandicoot (Chaeropus ecaudatus occidentalis).

According to Harper, the western subspecies has orange-brown fur, while the subspecies from the east is said to have been more gray. The subspecies are not mentioned in more recent sources. The IUCN writes about the pig-footed bandicoot: “There are no recognized subspecies.”