Museum specimen study reveals two new short nosed bandicoot species

Researchers analyzing historical museum collections have identified two previously unrecognized bandicoot species within the short-nosed bandicoot genus Isoodon, Nature World News reported. The study was led by Kenny Travouillon, curator of mammals at the Western Australian Museum, alongside colleagues from South Australia. The team published their findings in the Australian Journal of Taxonomy on October 14, 2026, and described their work in The Conversation on November 1, 2026. [1]

The decade long investigation examined hundreds of physical specimens stored in museums across Australia, Europe, and the United States. Scientists utilized deoxyribonucleic acid analysis alongside detailed morphological examinations of animal skulls to distinguish the two distinct species from known marsupial populations. Nature World News reported that one of the newly identified species is likely already extinct. [1]

Bandicoots belong to a diverse group of small marsupials endemic to the region. Other historical lineages include the southern pig-footed bandicoot, a small herbivorous marsupial in the genus Chaeropus. The discovery of hidden species in long-stored archival collections mirrors earlier findings, such as when researchers identified a 120 million year old European megaraptoran dinosaur species from a fossil that sat unstudied for roughly a century in a London museum, as FTMQ Science reported earlier. [3][5][6]

The formal recognition of these two marsupial species alters the geographical map of Australian marsupial biodiversity. According to Nature World News, the identification of these specimens, including the likely extinct species, provides critical historic data for ongoing marsupial conservation efforts. [1]