The western barred bandicoot (Perameles bougainville), also known as the Shark Bay bandicoot or the marl, is a small species of bandicoot which was once widespread in arid and semi-arid areas of southern Australia. Now extinct across most of its former range, the western barred bandicoot became restricted to Bernier and Dorre islands in the early 20th century. Successful reintroduction programs have taken place since the beginning of the 21st century, and as of 2025, it is resident on four islands in Shark Bay and six fenced reserves on the mainland: one in Western Australia, two in South Australia, and three in New South Wales.
Description The Western barred bandicoot Is much smaller than its relative the eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii), and is darker in its colouring, which is a grizzled brown. It measures about 1.5 feet (46 cm) in length. It has two "bars" across its rump and has a short, tapered tail. It was a solitary and crepuscular hunter, eating insects, spiders, and worms and occasionally tubers and roots. When the bandicoot feels threatened, it typically leaps into the air and then burrows to safety.
Taxonomy The first description of the Western barred bandicoot was from a specimen taken at Peron Peninsula in 1817 by naturalists on the Uranie. Populations of the Perameles species have been referred to by various names, in different regions of Australia;
P. myosurus myosurus – King George Sound, Western Australia P. fasciata – Liverpool Plains, New South Wales P. myosuros notina – St Vincent Gulf, South Australia P. bougainville – Shark Bay, Western Australia Since all mainland species are naturally extinct it is believed early taxonomists described the same species based in local populations on pelage colour, however this remains unresolved due to the lack of mainland specimens. In the year 2000 the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 identified two different taxa, P. bougainville fasciata as extinct, and P. bougainville bougainville as endangered. Today they are all identified under the one species Perameles bougainville.
Ecology The distribution history shows that the species used a variety of vegetation types as habitats, dependent of its locality on mainland Australia; from Allocasuarina seedlings, open salt bush, blue bush plains, stony ridges bordering scrub and along the Murray-Darling river system. The last natural species habitats are in vegetated beach dune scrub, low heath and hummock grasslands. Breeding season has been recorded to be triggered from the first considerable rainfall after the summer drought in Autumn. Females reach sexual maturity at 3–5 months and weigh an average of 244 grams (8.6 oz). The female carries between 1–3 young in her pouch, averaging 2 young, with the litter size increasing with a larger mother. Four young have been recorded in pouches in South Australia. The female carries her young between the months of March to November. The male Western barred bandicoot matures at 4–6 months and weighs an average of 195 grams (6.9 oz). The female Western barred bandicoot is larger than the male, being the only recorded species of bandicoot with a larger female. The Western barred bandicoot is known as a solitary, omnivorous animal, foraging on their own, eating plant matter, invertebrates and skinks. They have an isolated, well-concealed nest made from the litter of their habitat, most often using the same nest each night. Females are known to be the only individuals who share their nests, and only with their young.
Distribution At the time of European settlement the Western barred bandicoot was widespread across southern mainland Australia from Western Australia to central New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia in arid and semi-arid areas of the Mainland. The last known record of the species occurring on mainland Australia, is in Ooldea, South Australia in 1922 and Rawlinna, Western Australia, in 1929. It was assessed as being extinct on the Australian mainland, Dirk Hartog and Faure islands before reintroduction projects. The only surviving natural populations are on Bernier and Dorre islands in Shark Bay, Western Australia. The reintroduction program for threatened marsupials saw the Western barred bandicoot reintroduced back to mainland Australia in 1995 to Heirisson Prong, Shark Bay; 66 years after the last known mainland recording. The translocation was ultimately a failure, with the species recently identified as locally extinct on Heirisson Prong. However the species was successfully reintroduced into the fenced Arid Recovery Reserve at Roxby Downs, South Australia, in 2000, and to Faure island, Shark Bay in 2005. It was reintroduced to a large fenced reserve at Western Australia's Mount Gibson Sanctuary in 2017, to Dirk Hartog Island in October 2019, to a fenced landscape within Sturt National Park in 2021, and to a fenced private reserve on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula in August 2021. In September 2023, the species was released at two large fenced reserves within New South Wales; in the Pilliga Forest and Mallee Cliffs. Captive, contained breeding facility populations on the mainland at Dryandra Woodland, in Western Australia were not successful, though there are captive populations within the Barna Mia Nocturnal Animal Sanctuary, allowing people to see the animals in a controlled environment within the Dryandra Woodland.
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