Lesser bilby

Lesser bilby ( Macrotis leucura )

The little bilby ( leucura macrotis ) was a living in Australia bag species from the group of bandicoots. It is extinct in the 20th century. Its closest relative is the surviving Great bilby.

Features

Like all the bandicoots had the little bilby a stocky build and a pointed snout. He reached a body length 20-27 cm, a tail length of 12-17 centimeters and a weight of 0.3 to 0.4 kilograms. The soft, silky fur was colored white on top and gray-brown on the bottom. The tail ending in a tassel and was, in contrast to its larger relatives, solid white colored. The head was characterized by the elongated snout and large ears. The front legs were strong and suitable for digging, the elongated hind legs were the hoppel ends locomotion.

Dissemination and lifestyle

Small bilby inhabited the dry inland of Australia. There were two populations, one in the north-eastern South Australia and adjacent regions of the Northern Territory and Western Australia in the eastern and southwestern Northern Territory. Little is known about the habits of these animals. They were active at night and spent the day in self-dug, deep burrows. They subsisted on insects, other small animals and roots that they dug out of the ground.

The extinction

In the early 20th century began the dramatic decline in populations. The reasons were the plots by introduced red foxes and domestic cats, the displacement by the also entrained wild rabbits and the large-scale conversion of their habitat in pastures. The last saved sighting dates back to 1931, reports of the Aborigines suggest that the species may have survived until the 1960s.