What Is a Numbat Animal?
Due to its status as an island nation, Australian ecosystems are unlike any other in the world. This leads to a rich biodiversity of plants and animals which are not found naturally anywhere else in the world. While this makes its ecosystems beautiful, its isolation can also make it vulnerable to changes. The numbat is an Australian animal which has seen various threats to its survival, resulting in the decimation of entire populations from some parts of the country. The numbat is a small mammal which feeds on insects, but are themselves prey for larger animals. Like some other famous Australian animals, the numbat is a marsupial. Despite sharing some definitive characteristics with other marsupials, they also have their own peculiarities.
Get to know this rare Australian mammal with thedailyECO as we ask what is a numbat animal? In addition to looking at its physical and behavioral characteristics, we discover more about its diet, habitat, reproduction and more.
What is a numbat animal?
The numbat is a small marsupial, types of mammals known for their unique reproductive strategy and a group which also contains kangaroos, koalas, wombats, bandicoots and others. To better understand this unique animal, we should look at the main characteristics of numbats:
- The numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) is small marsupial which is native to Australia.
- They have a distinctive coat that is noted for its distinctive stripes reminiscent of the now extinct Tasmanian tiger, another marsupial of the order Dasyuromorphia. These stripes are stronger at the hind end of the animal than the front where a spotted pattern usually appears. While the hind quarters have darker fur, the lighter fur can be of varying colors. These are usually some combination of red or gray. Although not closely related, they bear a similarity to chipmunks in appearance.
- The face is elongated and their ears are pointed and erect.
- The tail is long at almost the same length as the body.
- In total, the numbat measures on average 18" (45 cm) in length if you include the tail.
To better understand the origin, let's review the taxonomy of the numbat:
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Mammalia
- Subclass: Marsupialia
- Order: Dasyuromorphia
- Family: Myrmecobiidae
- Genus: Myrmecobius
- Species: Myrmecobius fasciatus
As they are from the subclass Marsupialia, they are a marsupial animal. They are the only extant myrmecobid. Despite thier marsupial status, they are not closely related to modern marsupials. They separated from now-extinct marsupials 40 million years ago.
Where does the numbat live?
Not all marsupials are native to Australia, but the majority are. This includes the numbat. While they previously had populations all across the country, threats to their survival have resulted in entire populations being wiped out. Their population distribution is now almost exclusively in the state of Western Australia.
Numbat habitats are usually acacia forests, eucalyptus forests, and arid areas with sandy areas covered by grasslands. They are also known to inhabit sand dune areas. In addition to being endemic to a single island nation, numbats are not easy to find within the country,. This is because they only inhabit remote areas. There are only six known locations where they are found.
What does a numbat eat?
The name of its genus (Myrmecobius) gives us an idea of its diet. In Greek, the prefix myrmex means ‘ant’. The numbat is an insectivore, mainly eating ants and termites. Despite the genus name, it feeds predominantly the latter. It is believed that it consumes the ants by accident when it is actually intending to seek out termites. To catch them, it uses its long tongue. This is coated with a sticky substance that allows the termites to adhere.
Numbats are known to consume up to 20,000 insects per day. Learn more about similar types of animals to the numbat according to diet with our guide to the animals that eat ants.
Numbat behavior
The numbat has semi-fossorial habits, meaning it burrows underground. It relies heavily on its sense of smell, which it uses to locate termite and ant colonies. Once it finds them, it digs them out with its front paws. This is similar to the most famous ant-eating animal, the anteater.
We stated earlier that numbats are different to other marsupials. One key difference is that they are diurnal animals, meaning they are most active during the day. It is at this time they forage for insects. At night, they hide in hollow logs or crevices for shelter. In addition, they also have more teeth than any other type of marsupial. Despite having a larger dentition, they don't tend to need the teeth for feeding since they consume termites whole.
Reproduction of the numbat
Numbats mainly reproduce in the month of February, doing so via internal fertilization. This results in approximately four offspring that will gestate for 15 days before the litter is born.
As marsupials, the young of the numbat emerge from their mother before they are fully developed. This type of reproduction is different to truly viviparous mammals, which do give birth to full-grown young.
Despite this type of marsupial reproduction, numbats are unusual in that they lack a pouch. This is the flap of skin which other marsupials typically have for holding their undeveloped young. When the young are born, they measure 2 centimeters long and will remain attached to their mother's nipple for four long months. This happens until they are fully grown, at which point they reach 8 centimeters in length.
Learn more about the behavior of other marsupials with our article explaining the diet of koalas.
Threats and conservation of the numbat
The numbat is endangered, as classified by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species[1]. There are an estimated 800 mature specimens, with population trends indicating that this number will continue to decline. Numbats have declined in number due to the introduction of non-native predators into their habitat. Their main current predators are feral cats, meaning those that don't have owners. Wolves are also a key predator.
In terms of causes of numbat threats in their ecosystem, numbats are affected by the change in wild fire dynamics. These have shifted their patterns towards arid fields, resulting in wide destruction of natural numbat habitats.
In addition to the threats they face, numbat communities are highly isolated and fragmented. This further reduces the likelihood of interbreeding. It is a species protected by Australian law. Several reintroductions of numbats have been carried out from the west to the south in protected natural areas as part of species conservation strategies. Furthermore, fox populations that preyed on them have been limited, greatly helping to stabilize them.
To help in preserving the natural habitat of numbats and many other Australian animals, you can check out our article explaining how to help stop wildfires.
Fun facts about numbats
To finish off our article asking what is a numbat animal, we share some fun facts about this incredible creature:
- It belongs to the smallest marsupials, although it has several differences with most current marsupials.
- Important predators of the numbat are eagles, hawks, monitor lizards and pythons.
- To cover their minimum daily food intake they require about 15,000 termites.
- It is the official animal of Western Australia.
- Most marsupials are nocturnal, but the numbat is diurnal.
If you want to read similar articles to What Is a Numbat Animal?, we recommend you visit our Wild animals category.
1. Woinarski, J. & Burbidge, A. A. (2016) Myrmecobius fasciatus.
https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T14222A21949380.en
- Withers, P. C., Cooper, C. E., Maloney, S. K., Bozinovic, F., & Cruz-Neto, A. P. (2016). Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Mammals. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
- Feldhamer, G. A., Merritt, J. F., Krajewski, C., Rachlow, J. L., & Stewart, K. M. (2020). Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology. United States: Johns Hopkins University Press.
