The Myrmecobiidae contains a single species, the numbat ( Myrmecobius fasciatus ).
These
marsupials
are small to medium in size, weighing 300 to 700 gms, with a pointed head, small
ears, and a long, bushy tail. They lack a pouch. Their coat is distinctively banded
across the back and rump with transverse dark and white stripes. Large, strong claws
are found on all digits. Numbats have a remarkable long and slender tongue, with which
they extract termites and ants from their galleries.
The teeth of numbats are relatively small and appear degenerate; nevertheless, they
are
polyprotodont
, with four upper and three lower
incisors
on each side of their jaws. Following these are upper and lower
canines
, and behind the canines are a series of
molars
and
premolars
that may include extra (supernumerary) teeth. The total number of
cheek teeth
is usually 7-8 on each side of the upper jaw, 8-9 on each side of the lower. As is
true of other
dasyuromorphs
, numbats are not
syndactylous
.
Cranial characteristics
of these peculiar animals include an unusual backward prolongation of the hard
palate
, reduction in the size and number of
palatal vacuities
, massive postfrontal processes, and palatal branches of the
premaxillae
that don't fuse anteriorly.
Numbats often forage during the day.
Numbats are found in southern Australia. Once widespread, they have been reduced to few isolated populations by habitat destruction and predation by the introduced red fox.
Literature and references cited
Feldhamer, G. A., L. C. Drickamer, S. H. Vessey, and J. F. Merritt. 1999. Mammalogy. Adaptation, Diversity, and Ecology. WCB McGraw-Hill, Boston. xii+563pp.
Marshall, L. G. 1984. Monotremes and marsupials. Pp 59-115 in Anderson, S. and J. Knox Jones, eds, Orders and Families of Recent Mammals of the World. John Wiley and Sons, NY. xii+686 pp.
Strahan, R. (ed.). 1995. Mammals of Australia. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 756 pp.
Vaughan, T. A. 1986. Mammalogy. Third Edition. Saunders College Publishing, Fort Worth. vi+576 pp.
Vaughan, T. A., J. M. Ryan, N. J. Czaplewski. 2000. Mammalogy. Fourth Edition. Saunders College Publishing, Philadelphia. vii+565pp.
Additional Links
Contributors
Phil Myers (author), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate