Perameles papillon Travouillon & Phillips, 2018
Butterfly bandicoot, Nullarbor barred bandicoot, Zebra rat, walilya
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Conservation Status
Extinct (AMTC, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024; Burbidge, 2024; Woinarski & Burbidge, 2025)
Last record: 1928 (specimen) (Travouillon & Burbidge, 2023:193; Woinarski & Burbidge, 2025); 1920-1960 (c.1940?) (source)
IUCN RedList status: Extinct
Distribution & Habitat
Nullarbor, Australia
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
There are three known photos of living individuals (Long, 2025).
References
Original scientific description:
Travouillon, Kenny J. and Phillips, Matthew J. (2018). Total evidence analysis of the phylogenetic relationships of bandicoots and bilbies (Marsupialia: Peramelemorphia): reassessment of two species and description of a new species. Zootaxa 4378(2): 224-256.
Other references:
AMTC (Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium). (2021). The AMTC Australian Mammal Species List. Version 1.0. https://australianmammals.org.au/publications/amtc‐species‐list [Downloaded on 24 November 2024]
AMTC (Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium). (2022). The AMTC Australian Mammal Species List. Version 2.0. https://australianmammals.org.au/publications/amtc-species-list [Downloaded on 24 November 2024]
AMTC (Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium). (2023). The AMTC Australian Mammal Species List. Version 3.0. https://australianmammals.org.au/publications/amtc-species-list [Downloaded on 24 November 2024]
AMTC (Australasian Mammal Taxonomy Consortium). (2024). The AMTC Australian Mammal Species List. Version 4.1. https://australianmammals.org.au/publications/amtc-species-list [Downloaded on 24 November 2024]
Barrett, Charles. (1924). Stationmaster as Naturalist (Wild Life in the Desert). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic), 30 August, p. 15.
Burbidge, Andrew A. (2024). Australian terrestrial mammals: how many modern extinctions? Australian Mammalogy. https://doi.org/10.1071/AM23037
de Kruijff, Peter. (2025, July 27). Long-lost photos of extinct butterfly bandicoot found in museum storeroom. ABC News (online). Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-07-27/butterfly-nullarbor-barred-bandicoot-photos-found-100-years/105504626 [Accessed 29 July 2025]
Long, Rohan. (2025). Two recently identified photographs of living Nullarbor barred bandicoot (Perameles papillon, Travoullion and Phillips 2018) prior to extinction. Australian Mammalogy 47. https://doi.org/10.1071/AM25008
McKenzie, N. L. and Robinson, A. C. (eds.). (1987). A Biological Survey of the Nulalrbor Region, South and Western Australia, in 1984. Adelaide: Department of Environment and Planning.
Travouillon, Kenny J. (2017). To document the diversity of bandicoots and bilbies through time and space. Report for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust of Australia. 18 pp.
Travouillon, Kenny J. and Burbidge, Alan A. (2023). Nullarbor Barred Bandicoot, Perameles papillon, pp. 193-194. In: Baker, Andrew M. and Gynther, Ian C. (eds.). Strahan’s Mammals of Australia (4th ed.). Wahroonga, NSW: Reed New Holland Publishers. 848 pp.
von Koenigswald, Wighart. (2026). Diversity and function of the anterior dentitions in fossil and extant mammals. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-025-00690-1
Woinarski, John C. Z., Braby, M. F., Burbidge, A. A., Coates, D., Garnett, S. T., Fensham, R. J., Legge, S. M., McKenzie, N. L., Silcock, J L. and Murphy, B. P. (2019). Reading the black book: The number, timing, distribution and causes of listed extinctions in Australia. Biological Conservation 239: 108261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108261
Woinarski, John C. Z. and Burbidge, Andrew A. (2025). Perameles papillon. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T217035476A217035485. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-2.RLTS.T217035476A217035485.en. Accessed on 05 August 2026.
Woinarski, John C. Z., Legge, Sarah M., Moseby, Katherine, Burbidge, Andrew A., Carthey, Alexandra J. R., Dickman, Chris R., Doherty, Tim S., Ferris, Jason, Fisher, Diana O., Hollanders, Matthijs, Hradsky, Bronwyn A., Johnson, Chris N., Jolly, Chris J., Kanowski, John, Letnic, Mike, Mason, Rachel T., McGregor, Hugh, Murphy, Brett P., Pedler, Reece, Read, John L., Rendall, Anthony R., Stobo-Wilson, Alyson, Webb, Jonathan, Webber, Bruce L., West, Rebecca and Ritchie, Euan G. (2026). Investigating the Causes of an Extinction Catastrophe: Controlling Introduced Predators Remains Essential for Conserving Australia’s Mammals. BioScience. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaf204
Wood Jones, F. (1924). The mammals of South Australia. Part II. The bandicoots and the herbivorous marsupials (the syndactylous Didelphia). Government Printer, Adelaide.
http://museum.wa.gov.au/about/latest-news/new-research-tracks-evolution-bilbies-and-bandicoots-new-species-discovered ["New research tracks evolution of bilbies and bandicoots, new species discovered"]
https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/23115/perameles-papillon