Mammals · Notoryctemorphia · Notoryctidae

Itjaritjari

Notoryctes typhlops

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

It is one of the least understood mammals in the world: no scientist has ever documented its breeding behaviour in the wild. It has no working eyes at all and literally swims through loose desert sand.

Weight

40 g – 70 g

Size

12.1 cm – 15.9 cm

Lifespan

2 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Irregular activity

Active at irregular times, by day or night depending on circumstances.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

DesertInsectivore Variable activity Solitary Desert Mammal

1countries 4parks

Fun facts

adaptaciónIt is practically blind, has no working eyes and swims through the sand of the Australian desert rather than digging permanent tunnels.
anatomíaIt has no visible working eyes and no external ears, both adaptations entirely to its life beneath the sand of the Australian desert.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (marsupial mammal)
Habitat & environment: Loose sand deserts of central-western Australia, living almost entirely underground without permanent burrows
Birth weight: Exact weight at birth not found as a precise figure
Size at birth: Extremely undeveloped at birth; no precise development figures documented
Sexual maturity: Not precisely known (no documented observations of breeding in the field or in captivity)
Gestation / incubation: Not precisely known
Litter / clutch size: 1 to 2 young per litter (from specimens carrying young in the pouch)

Sources consulted: Animal Diversity Web; EBSCO Research Starters; BioDB; Encyclopedia.com; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Wikipedia (Southern marsupial mole, Marsupial mole)