| Bilby |
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| peramelemorphs | |
| mammals of australia | |
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__NOTOC__ Bilbies are Marsupial omnivores; they are members of the Peramelemorphia biological order and the largest of the Bandicoot s. Before European Colonisation of Australia there were two species. One became extinct in the 1950s, the other survives but remains endangered. Bilbies have the characteristic long bandicoot muzzle and very long ears. As compared with other bandicoots, they have a longer tail, bigger ears, and softer, silky fur. They are nocturnal omnivores that do not need to drink water, as they get all the moisture they need from their food, which includes insects and their larvae, seeds, spiders, bulbs, fruit, fungi and very small animals. Most food is found by digging or scratching in the soil, and using their very long tongues. They are excellent burrowers and build extensive tunnel systems with their strong forelimbs and well-developed claws. A bilby typically makes a number of burrows within its home range, up to about a dozen, and moves between them, using them for shelter both from predators and the heat of the day. There have been reasonably successful moves to popularise the bilby as a native alternative to the Easter Bunny by selling Chocolate Easter Bilbies (sometimes with a portion of the profits going to Bilby protection and research). Reintroduction efforts have also begun, with a successful reintroduction into the Arid Recovery Reserve in South Australia in 2000, and plans underway for a reintroduction into Currawinya National Park in Queensland . Successful reintroductions have also occurred onto Peron Peninsula in Western Australia as a part of Project Eden an initiative of the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management ( CALM ). The placement of the bilbies within the Peramelemorphia has changed in recent years. Vaughan (1978) and Groves and Flannery (1990) both placed this family within the Peramelidae family. Kirsch et al. (1997) found them to be distinct from the species in Peroryctidae (which is now a subfamily in Peramelidae). McKenna and Bell (1997) also placed it in Peramelidae, but as the sister of '' Chaeropus '' in the subfamily Chaeropodinae . SPECIES
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