science

Peramelidae

Peramelidae is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Peramelidae rather than just read about it. In short: The marsupial family Peramelidae contains the extant bandicoots. They are found throughout Australia and New Guinea, with at least some species living in every available habitat, from rainforest to desert.

Key takeaways

Peramelidae belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Peramelidae to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Peramelidae from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The marsupial family Peramelidae contains the extant bandicoots. They are found throughout Australia and New Guinea, with at least some species living in every available habitat, from rainforest to desert. Four fossil peramelids are described. One known extinct species of bandicoot, the pig-footed bandicoot, was so different from the other species, it was recently moved into its own family.

Characteristics Peramelids are small marsupials, ranging in size from the mouse bandicoot, which is 15–17.5 cm long, to the giant bandicoot, which at 39–56 cm in length and up 4.7 kg in weight, is about the size of a rabbit. They have short limbs and tails, smallish, mouse-like ears, and a long, pointed snout. Peramelids are omnivorous, with soil-dwelling invertebrates forming the major part of their diet; they also eat seeds, fruit, and fungi. Their teeth are correspondingly unspecialised, with most species having the dental formula 5.1.3.43.1.3.4 Female peramelids have a pouch that opens to the rear and contains eight teats. The maximum litter size is, therefore, eight, since marsupial young are attached to the teat during development, although two to four young per litter is a more typical number. The gestation period of peramelids is the shortest among mammals, at just 12.5 days, the young are weaned around two months of age, and reach sexual maturity at just three months. This allows a given female to produce more than one litter per breeding season and gives peramelids an unusually high reproductive rate compared with other marsupials.

Classification

The listing for peramelid species is based on the Mammal Diversity Database and the Australian Faunal Directory for extant species, as well as The Paleobiology Database for extinct species.

Family Peramelidae Subfamily Peramelinae Genus Crash† Crash bandicoot† (fossil) Genus Isoodon: short-nosed bandicoots Golden bandicoot, Isoodon auratus Quenda, Isoodon fusciventer Northern brown bandicoot, Isoodon macrourus Southern brown bandicoot, Isoodon obesulus Cape York brown bandicoot, Isoodon peninsulae Genus Perameles: long-nosed or barred bandicoots Western barred bandicoot, Perameles bougainville Desert bandicoot, Perameles eremiana† (extinct) New South Wales barred bandicoot, Perameles fasciata† (extinct) Eastern barred bandicoot, Perameles gunnii Southwestern barred bandicoot, Perameles myosuros† (extinct) Long-nosed bandicoot, Perameles nasuta Southern barred bandicoot, Perameles notina† (extinct) Queensland barred bandicoot, Perameles pallescens Ooldea barred bandicoot, Perameles papillon)† (extinct) Perameles allinghamensis† (fossil) Perameles bowensis† (fossil) Perameles sobbei† (fossil) Subfamily Peroryctinae Genus Peroryctes: New Guinean long-nosed bandicoots Giant bandicoot, Peroryctes broadbenti Raffray's bandicoot, Peroryctes raffrayana cf. Peroryctes tedfordi† (fossil) cf. Peroryctes sp.† (fossil) Subfamily Echymiperinae Genus Echymipera: New Guinean spiny bandicoots Long-nosed spiny bandicoot, Echymipera rufescens Clara's spiny bandicoot, Echymipera clara Menzies' spiny bandicoot, Echymipera echinista Common spiny bandicoot, Echymipera kalubu David's spiny bandicoot, Echymipera davidi Genus Microperoryctes: New Guinean mouse bandicoots Mouse bandicoot, Microperoryctes murina Western striped bandicoot, Microperoryctes longicauda Arfak pygmy bandicoot, Microperoryctes aplini Papuan bandicoot, Microperoryctes papuensis Genus Rhynchomeles Seram bandicoot, Rhynchomeles prattorum

See also List of mammal genera List of recently extinct mammals List of prehistoric mammals

References

Further reading Groves, C. P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 39–42. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. OCLC 62265494. Schwartz, L.R. (2006). "A new species of bandicoot from the Oligocene of Northern Australia and implications for correlating Australian Tertiary mammal faunas". Palaeontology. 49 (5): 991–998. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2006.00584.x. S2CID 84073016. Gordon, G.; Hulbert, A.J. (1989). "Part 24:Peramelidae". Fauna of Australia Volume 1B Mammalia (PDF). Canberra, Australia: AGPS. ISBN 978-0-644-06056-1. Retrieved 12 February 2011. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Peramelidae

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Peramelidae claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Peramelidae before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Peramelidae ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Peramelidae

In research: Peramelidae appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Peramelidae in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Peramelidae is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Mammal families, Peramelemorphs, Taxa named by John Edward Gray, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Peramelidae outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Peramelidae in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Peramelidae means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Peramelidae out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Peramelidae in simple terms?

Why does Peramelidae matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Peramelidae?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Peramelidae.