Bandicoot

Bandicoot, any animal of the genus Perameles, typical of the family Peramelidae, to which the popular name is sometimes extended, and which contains two other genera, Macrotis and Choeropus (q.v.). The Bandicoots proper, distributed over Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and some of the neighbouring islands, are small marsupials, about the size of rabbits, with long slender head, ovate pointed ears, short harsh fur, rather short tail, pouch complete and opening backwards. The fore limbs have each five digits but only the middle three are well developed, the outer ones being rudimentary; the hind feet have a rudimentary inner toe, the second and third are slender and joined, but with distinct claws, the fourth is well, and the fifth moderately, developed. The species are entirely terrestrial, making nests of grass and sticks in hollow places on the ground and feeding chiefly on roots and bulbs varied with insects and worms.