NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Golden Bandicoot
Isoodon auratus (Ramsay, 1887)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Isoodon auratus, mounted specimen, Central Australian Museum
Mark Marathon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The golden bandicoot (Isoodon auratus; Yolngu: Wan'kurra) is a short-nosed bandicoot found in northern Australia. It is the smallest of its genus, and is distinguished from the brown bandicoots by its golden colouring and much smaller size.
It was once found throughout much of northern, central and western Australia, into south-western New South Wales, but it is now restricted to a few areas in Western Australia (WA) and the Northern Territory (NT). The I. auratus auratus subspecies, also known as the golden bandicoot (mainland), is found in the Kimberley region of WA, and on three of the Wessel Islands, NT: Marchinbar, Raragala, and Guluwuru Islands. Another subspecies, I. auratus barrowensis or golden bandicoot (Barrow Island), is found on Augustus, Barrow and Middle Islands off Western Australia (I. auratus barrowensis). As of 2023 the classification into subspecies is debated; however the whole species is classed as vulnerable species.
Wikipedia contributors, Golden bandicoot; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:16:29.085892+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Isoodon auratus (Ramsay, 1887)
- Name authority
- (Ramsay, 1887)
- Common name
- Golden Bandicoot
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Peramelemorphia
- Family
- Peramelidae
- Genus
- Isoodon
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassMetatheria Huxley, 1880
- orderPeramelemorphia Ameghino, 1889
- familyPeramelidae Gray, 1825
- subfamilyPeramelinae Gray, 1825
- genusIsoodon Desmarest, 1817
- speciesIsoodon auratus (Ramsay, 1887)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Isoodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Brown BandicootIsoodon obesulus (Shaw, 1797) | PeramelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern Brown BandicootIsoodon macrourus (Gould, 1842) | PeramelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Perameles auratus Ramsay, 1887 Ramsay, 1887 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=552655 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6MYGS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.