Little bettong

Little bettong
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Diprotodontia
Family: Potoroidae
Genus: Bettongia
Species:
†B. haoucharae
Binomial name
Bettongia haoucharae
Newman-Martin, Travouillon, & Warburton, 2025

The little bettong (Bettongia haoucharae) was a small marsupial that lived in southern and central Australia. It is now extinct. We only know about this animal from old bones and mummified remains found in the Nullarbor Plain and Great Victoria Desert. The name haoucharae honors Dalal Haouchar, who studied bettongs and found genetic differences in samples from the Nullarbor area.

Extinction

We do not know exactly why the little bettong died out. But because it disappeared around the same time as similar animals, scientists think cats and foxes may have hunted it to extinction. Western scientists never saw a live little bettong, but Aboriginal people knew about it in central Australia until about 1960. However, their reports might have been about a different species called the desert bettong (Bettongia anhydra). The last time people living near the Nullarbor saw the little bettong was in the late 1930s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Newman-Martin, Jake; Travouillon, Kenny J.; Warburton, Natalie; Barham, Milo; Blyth, Alison J. (2025-09-05). "A taxonomic revision of the Bettongia penicillata (Diprotodontia: Potoroidae) species complex and description of the subfossil species Bettongia haoucharae sp. nov". Zootaxa. 5690 (1): 1–69. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5690.1.1. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 41119736.
  2. ↑ Newman-Martin, Jake; Blyth, Alison; Travouillon, Kenny; Barham, Milo; Warburton, Natalie (5 September 2025). "Australia has some new marsupial species – but they're already extinct". The Conversation. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Haouchar, Dalal; Pacioni, Carlo; Haile, James; McDowell, Matthew C.; Baynes, Alexander; Phillips, Matthew J.; Austin, Jeremy J.; Pope, Lisa C.; Bunce, Michael (2016-12-01). "Ancient DNA reveals complexity in the evolutionary history and taxonomy of the endangered Australian brush-tailed bettongs (Bettongia: Marsupialia: Macropodidae: Potoroinae)". Biodiversity and Conservation. 25 (14): 2907–2927. doi:10.1007/s10531-016-1210-y. ISSN 1572-9710.
  4. ↑ Burbidge, A. A.; Johnson, K. A.; Fuller, P. J.; Southgate, R. I. (1988-01-01). "Aboriginal knowledge of the mammals of the central deserts of Australia". Wildlife Research. 15 (1): 9–39. doi:10.1071/WR9880009. ISSN 1035-3712.
  5. ↑ History of the disappearance of native fauna from the Nullarbor Plain through the eyes of long-time resident Amy Crocker |url=Richards, J.D., and Short, J. (1996). History of the disappearance of native fauna from the Nullarbor Plain through the eyes of long-time resident Amy Crocker. The Western Australian Naturalist 21(2): 89–96. The Western Australian Naturalist