Carnivorous Marsupials: Order Dasyuromorpha In many ways, these are Australia's forgotten marsupials. There are in fact over 50 species of these generally predatory marsupials (Strahan 1998), making it the biggest family of marsupials (Egerton 199), yet they are little known by the general public. This is probably the result of the fact that, unlike kangaroos and possums, the dasyurids are very rarely seen, for on the whole they are small, fast and generally nocturnal in habit.
Feeding and Predation: Being predators, they are also at the top of the food chain, and naturally less abundant. Most dasyurids prey on insects and other invertebrates. However, they are well known amongst biologists for their tenacious nature and it is not uncommon for them to tackle prey that are larger than themselves, such as small birds and other mammals. The bigger dasyurids will catch larger birds and feed on carcasses. In turn, they are prey for many Australian snakes, although it has been suggested that the aggressive nature of dasyurids has resulted in the high incidence of strongly venomous snakes in Australia relative to the rest of the world (Martin 1993).
Appearance and features: Like many predators, they have evolved a fairly uniform morphology. Dasyurids tend to have four equal length limbs. The tail is not prehensile (Strahan and Cayley 1995) and may be covered in hair, be fluffy, or have a tuft at the end; in fact the group's name 'Dasyurid' means 'hairy tail' in Greek (Stahan and Cayley 1995). The head usually has large round ears and an elongated snout. Being predators, the long snout is filled with small, sharp teeth. Many of the smaller dasyurids have the cute appearance of small rodents, and were often thus described as 'marsupial mice'. They are now known under various little known names, such as Antechinus. Much like pole-cats were named 'native cats' and are now known as 'Quolls' (Strahan 1998). Most people are only really aware of the two biggest species of Dasyurid type marsupials, the 'Tasmanian Devil', and the now extinct 'Tasmanian Wolf/Tiger', more properly known today as the 'Thylacine'. However, most of the 'Dasyurids' are generally very small, rodent-like marsupials with reported voracious and carnivorous natures. Being Mammals, Bandicoots have pouches in which they raise their young. As Marsupials, their pouches open backwards, opposite to the Kangaroo, as they do a lot of digging and do not want their pouches to fill with dirt.
Script: Courtesy of Damon Ramsey BSc.(Zool) Biologist Guide
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