Crash bandicoot (species) facts for kids

Crash bandicoot is an extinct (no longer living) marsupial animal, a type of bandicoot. We know about it from fossils found in a special place called the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in northeast Australia.

What's in a Name?

This ancient bandicoot was named Crash bandicoot after the famous video game character, Crash Bandicoot! Scientists chose the name because this animal looked a bit like modern bandicoots. They also used "Crash" because finding this animal's fossils in a Miocene-era site was quite a surprise, like something "crashing" into view. It also hints that these bandicoots might have "crashed" out of wet rainforests into drier areas.

Scientists first described this new species in 2014. It was part of the amazing collection of Riversleigh fauna (animals found at Riversleigh).

What Did It Look Like?

Crash bandicoot is known from only one species. It is thought to be an early relative of the Peramelidae family. This family includes many modern bandicoots. It separated from other ancient bandicoot groups. These groups include the pig-footed bandicoots and the bilbies.

Before this discovery, the oldest known bandicoot fossils were Perameles bowensis and Perameles allinghamensis. These were found in younger Pliocene rocks in eastern Australia.

Scientists believe Crash bandicoot weighed about one kilogram (about 2.2 pounds). The only known specimen is part of its right upper jaw. This jaw piece still has some of its molar teeth (M1–M3) and spaces where other teeth used to be.

Where Did It Live?

Crash bandicoot fossils have only been found at Riversleigh. This area is famous for its many well-preserved fossils of ancient mammals.

The only known spot where its fossils were found is the Alan's Ledge 1990 Site (AL90). This site was once a cave. The fossils found there are from the middle Miocene epoch. This was about 15 million years ago. At that time, Riversleigh was covered in wet rainforest.

Other animal fossils found at the same site also show it was a wet rainforest environment. Finding Crash bandicoot from this early time suggests something interesting. It implies that bandicoots first became diverse in areas that were becoming drier. This happened as the Australian continent moved closer to the equator.

Images for kids

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  Life reconstruction of Crash

See also

In Spanish: Crash bandicoot (especie) para niños