Northern pig-footed bandicoot

The northern pig-footed bandicoot (Chaeropus yirratji) was a small species of extinct herbivorous Australian marsupial in the genus Chaeropus, the pig-footed bandicoots. It has been believed to be extinct since the mid-20th century; the last confirmed observation was a specimen collected near Alice Springs in 1901, but reports from local Aborigines indicate that it may have survived in the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts as late as the 1950s.[1][2][3]

Northern pig-footed bandicoot
Conservation status
Extinct (1950s)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Marsupialia
Order:	Peramelemorphia
Family:	†Chaeropodidae
Genus:	†Chaeropus
Species:	†C. yirratji
Binomial name
†Chaeropus yirratji Travouillon et al. 2019

It very closely resembled and was formerly considered conspecific with the related southern pig-footed bandicoot, but unlike C. ecaudatus, C. yirratji was restricted to grassland habitats in the deserts of central and western Australia. It also had a longer tail and hind feet, a different dentition, fewer holes on its palate, and a distinct coat coloration. It had at least two different color morphs; a light morph and a dark morph. This species likely went extinct due to the introduction of invasive red foxes and feral cats, as well as habitat degradation for livestock.[1][3][4]