Australia - Page 4 of 4

Perameles Papillon - ausgestorbener Langnasenbeutler

The extinct butterfly bandicoot has a dark marking on its rump that resembles a butterfly. This rare photograph of the species was taken between 1924 and 1926 by the British naturalist Frederic Wood Jones. (© Gavan Mitchell, Imaging Technician, ADAPT Lab, Department of Anatomy & Physiology, University of Melbourne, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Mammals

15. July 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Butterfly Bandicoot

Scientifically described only in 2018 The butterfly bandicoot was granted species status only in 2018—by that time it was already extinct. The Australian marsupial from the genus of long-nosed bandicoots (Perameles) was scientifically described based on material from the Natural History Museum in London and the Western Australian Museum. Perameles

Weihnachtsinsel-Ratte (Rattus nativitatis)

An image of the now extinct bulldog rat from the 1900 book A Monograph of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean). Its fur was dark brown and it had a layer of fat on its back. (© Biodiversity Heritage Library, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Mammals

9. July 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Bulldog rat

Introduced parasite wiped out native rats Christmas Island once also had endemic rats: the bullog rat and the Maclear’s rat. Both are now extinct—most probably for the same reason. Christmas Island, which lies in the Indian Ocean and belongs to Australia, was known for its rich phosphate deposits. Therefore, in

weissbrust-brillenvogel / Zosterops albogularis

Drawing of the White-chested white-eye by John Gould (between 1840 and 1848). Gould was the first to describe the songbird scientifically in 1937. (© Rawpixel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Birds

18. May 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

White-chested white-eye

Extinct in recent times The White-chested white-eye was native only to a forest area of five square kilometers at Mount Pitt on Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island lies east of Australia and north of New Zealand. Experts assume the bird species went extinct in recent times. The last confirmed sighting of

Pig-footed bandicoot in the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle in Paris. It reached a body length of around 25 centimeters and a tail length of up to 15 centimeters. (© Doreen Fräßdorf)

Mammals

24. April 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

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,

Lesser bilbies reached a head-body length of 20 to 27 centimeters, a tail length of twelve to 17 centimeters and a weight of between 300 and 400 grams. (© Sheepbaa, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Mammals

11. March 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Lesser Bilby

Introduced foxes and cats preyed on the lesser bilby Red foxes, domestic cats and wild rabbits introduced to Australia are considered the main reason why the marsupial species lesser bilby became extinct in the middle of the 20th century. After its discovery in 1887, the population of the bilby declined

Bones of the North Island giant moa at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. (© Auckland Museum, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Birds

26. February 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

North Island giant moa

The second-largest moa species This moa species inhabited scrub, grassland and dune landscapes as well as forests on New Zealand’s North Island. The North Island giant moa is considered the second-largest moa species. The largest species is the South Island giant moa, which was endemic to New Zealand’s South Island.