The eastern bettong (''Bettongia gaimardi''), also known as the southern or Tasmanian bettong, is a small, hopping, rat-like mammal native to grassy forests of southeastern Australia and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. A member of the rat-kangaroo family (

Potoroidae Potoroidae is a family of marsupials, small Australian animals known as bettongs, potoroos, and rat-kangaroos. All are rabbit-sized, brown, jumping marsupials and resemble a large rodent or a very small wallaby. Taxonomy The potoroids are s ...

), it is active at night and feeds on fungi and plant roots. Like other

marsupials Marsupials are any members of the mammalian infraclass Marsupialia. All extant marsupials are endemic to Australasia, Wallacea and the Americas. A distinctive characteristic common to most of these species is that the young are carried in a po ...

, it carries its young in a pouch. The eastern bettong is under pressure by introduced predators and habitat loss. The subspecies on mainland Australia (''B. g. gaimardi'') is extinct, but populations of the Tasmanian subspecies (''B. g. cuniculus'') have been reintroduced there.Rose, R. (1997).
Metabolic rate and thermal conductance in a mycophagous marsupial, ''Bettongia gaimardi''
'. The World Wide Web Journal of Biology 2: 2-7. The animal is called ''balbo'' by the

Ngunnawal The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Language Ngunnawal and Gundungurra are Australian Aboriginal languages from the Pama-Nyungan ...

, an Aboriginal people who used to keep them as pets.

Subspecies

Two formerly recognised species, ''Bettongia cuniculus'' (Tasmanian bettong) and ''Bettongia gaimardi'' (eastern bettong), were placed into a single species with two subspecies by Wakefield in 1967:Wakefield, N. (1967). Some taxonomic revision in the Australian marsupial genus ''Bettongia'', with description of a new species. The Victorian Naturalist. 84:8-22.Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (2011). ''Bettongia gaimardi gaimardi'' in Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra. Available from: http://www.environment.gov.au/sprat. Accessed Thu, 29 Dec 2011 06:51:31 +1100. (http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=66656) * ''B. g. gaimardi'', mainland subspecies (now extinct) * ''B. g. cuniculus'', Tasmanian subspecies The introduction of the

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

and

European rabbit The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has ...

to Australia led to the

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

of the mainland subspecies during the 1920s. The Tasmanian subspecies still exists. In 2012, a small population was

reintroduced Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustainin ...

to the mainland in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. The reintroduction to

Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary (previously ''Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve'') is a protected area situated in the Gungahlin district in north Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. It has several trails for walking, running and cycling ...

was successful, and led to further reintroductions using an on-site breeding program out of the nearby

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is a protected area, on the fringe of Namadgi National Park. Tidbinbilla is a short drive from the capital city of Australia, Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The nature reserve consists of a large val ...

and wild eastern bettongs translocated from Tasmania.

Diet and behaviour

This animal's habitat is dry, open

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

forests and grassy woodlands at altitudes between sea level and 1,000 meters. A major component of their diet is

truffle A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber''. In addition to ''Tuber'', many other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including ''Geopora'', ''Peziz ...

s and other underground fungi, as well as roots and

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

s. Insects and grubs are also eaten. It is unique in that it will travel up to 1.5 km from its nest to a feeding area, a considerable distance for such a small creature.Department of Primary Industries and Water (August 2006).

The Tasmanian bettong]''. Department of Primary Industries and Water. A Nocturnality, nocturnal animal, the bettong sleeps during the day in a domed nest. The nests are made with densely woven grass, leaves and shredded bark in a sheltered site such as a shallow depression in the ground or under a fallen log or clump of vegetation. The animal uses its curved

prehensile tail A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adapted to grasp or hold objects. Fully prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees. If the ta ...

to transport the nesting materials to the nest site. The animal only uses the nest for one or two nights, before it moves on in search of food. Like other bettongs, the eastern bettong is a

continuous breeder Continuous breeders are animal species that can breed or mate throughout the year. This includes humans and apes ( bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and gibbons), who can have a child at any time of year. In continuous breeders, female ...

, producing young throughout the year.University of Tasmania, School of Zoology.

Profile – Tasmanian Bettong]''. University of Tasmania. The

gestation period In mammals, pregnancy is the period of reproduction during which a female carries one or more live offspring from implantation in the uterus through gestation. It begins when a fertilized zygote implants in the female's uterus, and ends once it ...

is 21 days, after which the infant (referred to as a "joey") remains in the pouch for an additional 105 days.

Threats

While the mainland population became extinct in the 1920s, the Tasmanian population has remained secure. One concern is that most of the bettongs are found on private land, with only two groups found within reserves.

Red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

es are a major threat.Department of Primary Industries and Water - Foxes in Tasmania http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/ThemeNodes/LBUN-5K438GFoxes in Tasmania-Invasive Animals CRC Report http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/publications/lbun-6r26gg? The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has raised the threat status for eastern bettongs from least concern to near threatened.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Bettongia Mammals of Tasmania Mammals of New South Wales Mammals of Victoria (Australia) Mammals described in 1822