Desert bandicoot

Perameles eremiana

Blamed on cats

IUCN status: Extinct

Last seen: Perameles eremiana were last seen in 1943 at well 33, Canning Stock Route (IUCN 2023)

IUCN claim: “Its population decline was probably due to introduced predators: cats and foxes.”

Studies in support

Desert bandicoots were last confirmed at the Canning Stock Route 53-63 years after cats arrived (Wallach and Lundgren 2025).

Studies not in support

No studies

Is the threat claim evidence-based?

NA

Evidence linking Perameles eremiana to cats. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008.

References

Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).

IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023

Wallach A.D., Lundgren E.J. (2025) Review of evidence that foxes and cats cause extinctions of Australia’s endemic mammals. BioScience. DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaf046