Species profile: Numbat

Hello again, welcome back to animals under threat. Today, we will be covering the Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus).

 

The Numbat is a small marsupial that is the only member of the family (Myrmecobiidae) and is one of the four families that make up the order Dasyuromorphia. They are characterized by their colour which can vary between grey brown to reddish brown, bottle brush tail, dark stripe that starts at the base of the ear and passes through the eye to the snout. The banded stripes on their back are their most notable feature which gives them the nickname “banded anteater” (numbat, 2014).

Picture by Martin Pot

 

The numbat is native to Australia, although they are only found in South-west Western Australia. They are one of two marsupial species that diurnal which means they are active during the daytime. Numbat are insectivores as they only feed on termites. Using their long tongue that is covered in a sticky secretion, an adult numbat can eat up to 20,000 termites a day (numbat, 2018).

 

Numbat with tongue sticking out by John Lawson.

Numbat’s only live around five years, with females able to bred when they are 12 months old while males have to be at least 2 years’ old to breed. Female numbats give birth after 14 days and the very underdeveloped young travel up the mother’s stomach to reach the nipples. The young feed on their mother’s milk until they are about 9 months’ old where they begin to learn how to forage and eat termites. When the young are 12 months’ old, they leave their mother and become independent (www.numbat.org.au).

 

Numbat have become endangered due to introduction of feral cats and foxes. Numbat’s are normally hunted by native wildlife and know how to escape them. With feral cats and foxes however, numbat is not use to these predators and have not been able to escape them as easily. Habitat destruction of their food source is also a factor that affects the numbat. With the loss of native Australia habitat, termites begin to die out which affects the numbat as they rely on termites to survive (Hayward et al, 2015).

 

Next time, we will be covering a camel that evolved a single hump on its back, unlike most camel species that have two humps.

 

 

 

References

Hayward, M.W., Poh, A.S.L., Cathcart, J., Churcher, C., Bentley, J., Herman, K., Kemp, L., Riessen, N., Scully, P., Diong, C.H., Legge, S., Carter, A., Gibb, H. & Friend, J.A. 2015, "Numbat nirvana: Conservation ecology of the endangered numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) (Marsupialia:Myrmecobiidae) reintroduced to Scotia and Yookamurra Sanctuaries, Australia", Australian Journal of Zoology, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 258-269.

 

numbat. (2018). In P. Lagasse & Columbia University, The Columbia encyclopedia. (8th ed.). [Online]. New York: Columbia University Press. Available from: https://elibrary.jcu.edu.au/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/columency/numbat/0?institutionId=429 [Accessed 14 April 2019].

 

"Numbat." In The Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 5th ed., edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, 3084-3085. Vol. 6. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2014. General OneFile (accessed April 13, 2019). http://link.galegroup.com.elibrary.jcu.edu.au/apps/doc/CX3727801710/ITOF?u=james_cook&sid=ITOF&xid=b9669909.

 

http://www.numbat.org.au/thenumbat

 

Picture references

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbat