bandicoot

n.

an insect-eating marsupialanimal; family, Peramelidae; genus, Perameles.«The animals of this genus, commonly called Bandicootsin Australia, are all small, and live entirely on the ground,making nests composed of dried leaves, grass and sticks, inhollow places. They are rather mixed feeders; but insects,worms, roots and bulbs, constitute their ordinary diet.» (`Encyclopaedia Britannica,' 9th edit., vol. xv. p. 381.) Thename comes from India, being a corruption of Telugu pandi-kokku, literally «pig-dog,» used of a large ratcalled by naturalists Mus malabaricus, Shaw, Musgiganteus, Hardwicke; Mus bandis coota, Bechstein.The name has spread all over India. The Indian animal is verydifferent from the Australian, and no record is preserved toshow how the Anglo-Indian word came to be used in Australia.The Bandicoots are divided into three genera – – the TrueBandicoots (genus Perameles, q.v.), the RabbitBandicoots (genus Peragale, q.v.), and the Pig-footed Bandicoots (q.v.) (genus Choeropus,q.v.). The species are – – Broadbent's Bandicoot – – Perameles broadbenti, Ramsay.

♣ Cockerell's B. – – P. cockerelli, Ramsay.

♣ Common Rabbit B. – – Peragale lagotis, Reid.

♣ Desert B. – – P. eremiana, Spencer.

♣ Doria's B. – – Perameles dorerana, Quoy & Gaim.

♣ Golden B. – – P. aurata, Ramsay.

♣ Gunn's B. – – P. gunni, Gray.

♣ Less Rabbit B. – – Peragale minor, Spencer.

♣ Long-nosed B. – – Perameles nasuta, Geoffr.

♣ Long-tailed B. – – P. longicauda, Peters & Doria.

♣ North-Australian B. – – P. macrura, Gould.

♣ Port Moresby B. – – P. moresbyensis, Ramsay.

♣ Raffray's B. – – P. rafrayana, Milne-Edw.

♣ Short-nosed B. – – P. obesula, Shaw.

♣ Striped B. – – P. bougainvillii, Quoy & Gaim.

♣ White-tailed Rabbit B. – – P. lesicura. Thomas.

♣ Pig-footed B. – – Choeropus castanotis, Gray.

1802. D. Collins, `Account of New South Wales',vol. ii. p. 188 (Bass's Diary at the Derwent, January 1799):

«The bones of small animals, such as opossums, squirrels,kangooroo rats, and bandicoots, were numerous round theirdeserted fire-places.»

1820. W. C. Wentworth, `Description o New South Wales,' p. 3:

«The animals are, the kangaroo, native dog (which is a smallerspecies of the wolf), the wombat, bandicoot, kangaroo-rat,opossum, flying squirrel, flying fox, etc. etc.»

1827. P. Cunningham, `Two Years in New South Wales,' vol. i.p. 316

«The bandicoot is about four times he size of a rat, withouta tail, and burrows in the ground or in hollow trees.»

1832. Bischoff, `Van Diemen's Land,' vol. ii. p. 28:

«The bandicoot is as large as a rabbit. There are two kinds,the rat and the rabbit bandicoot.»

1845. R. Howitt, `Australia,' p. 233:

«The common people are not destitute of what Wordsworth calls`the poetry of common speech,' many of their similes being veryforcibly and naturally drawn from objects familiarly in sightand quite Australian. `Poor as a bandicoot,' `miserable as ashag on a rock.'»

Ibid. p. 330:

«There is also a rat-like animal with a swinish face, coveredwith ruddy coarse hair, that burrows in the ground – – thebandicoot. It is said to be very fine eating.»

1845. J. O. Balfour, `Sketch of New South Wales,' p. 26:

«The bandicoot is the size of a large rat, of a dark browncolour; it feeds upon roots, and its flesh is good eating.This animal burrows in the ground, and it is from this habit,I suppose, that when hungry, cold, or unhappy, the Australianblack says that he is as miserable as the bandicoot.»

1890. C. Lumholtz, `Among Cannibals, p. 92:

«The bandicoots are good eating even for Europeans, and in myopinion are the only Australian mammals fit to eat. Theyresemble pigs, and the flesh tastes somewhat like pork.»