These two barely hailed from history, until two nearly forgotten photographs of the butterfly bandicoot emerged from a museum collection. This revelation has led to broader fascination with this pint-sized marsupial and its larger role in Australia’s history. Frederic Wood Jones, an influential scientist and advocate for the study of Australian fauna in the early 20th century, produced these two images. One depicts a known living adult, while the other depicts a heavily painted juvenile.
The butterfly bandicoot, known scientifically as Perameles myosura notina, is notable for its unique fur pattern resembling a brown butterfly. It wasn’t until 2018 that Dr. Kenny Travouillon and a colleague formally described this cute little species. They think it succumbed to predation by foxes, launching a second cascade of extinction across the continent as foxes rapidly filled its former range. Recognition is increasing about Australia’s disappearing mammals. This visual documentation is turning out to be an invaluable record showing the relentless fight for conservation.
In 1919, Frederic Wood Jones lectured in human anatomy at the University of Adelaide. Arguably the first ecologist, he thoroughly chronicled the plight of the butterfly bandicoot and warned that Australia was losing its mammals as early as the 1920s. He noted that when alarmed, the butterfly bandicoot would “pause, and then, in an instant, spring into the air and vanish in the most remarkable manner.” His observations give a hint as to why its unpredictable behavior would have confused mammalian predators, even including foxes.
The Photographs and Their Significance
These newly discovered photographs, found in a museum archive box, date back to the 1920s. The first photo that won is of an adult butterfly bandicoot shown in a side profile portrait. The second photo is of a very ‘photoshopped’ juvenile bandicoot. Rohan Long, a researcher who stumbled upon these images, remarked, “They stood out to me because they were a bit older than most of the other objects that were there.”
Long said he was surprised to learn how historically significant these photographs were. “It’s very eerie to see something that I’ve never seen alive because it’s been extinct for nearly 100 years,” he said. Her attentiveness to details, combined with the archival rediscovery, provides an eerie, rare visual link to a species that has since disappeared from its former range.
The photographs not only serve as reminders of the butterfly bandicoot’s existence but highlight a broader narrative about conservation efforts in Australia. Professor Jones emphasized the need for responsibility towards Australia’s heritage: “Australia has a heritage for which it must accept responsibility.” He urged for active conservation measures, stating, “It must be prepared to conserve the living, to collect and preserve the dead, and to make provision for the proper study of the fauna in all its aspects.”
Extinction and Conservation Challenges
The butterfly bandicoot is one of 34 mammal species known or thought to have recently gone extinct in Australia since the arrival of the British settlers. Its decline is parallel to widespread habitat loss and alarming increases in predation by introduced species, like foxes. In one touching tribute to this Australian trend, Professor Jones lamented the dangers posed to Australian wildlife at the time of his passing.
The most important thing about the crossing, Dr. Travouillon emphasised, was that eight of the animals made the journey alive. Sadly, they had all come deceased and almost devoid of their hairy pelt. This tragic death underscores how vulnerable small mammals – from our native butterflies to our favorite bandicoot – are in a warming world. Invasive species and environmental stressors threaten their very survival.
Dr. Travouillon suggested that the butterfly bandicoot’s peculiar behaviors helped it thrive. This competitive edge meant it was able to outcompete other small mammals across much of Australia. He hedged that its tendency to baffle predators such as the ever-curious fox might have bought it some time on this Earth. Even with that incredible flexibility this species was unfortunately still overrun by the invasion of European settlers. Their acts wreaked havoc on ancestral ecosystems.
Cultural Context and Future Implications
The rediscovery of these photographs raises questions about the cultural context surrounding the butterfly bandicoot and similar species. As Rohan Long pointed out, the vast majority of specimens were originally collected by Aboriginal people, almost always without due credit. “Often when you trace back to where that animal actually came from, it’s been collected by an Aboriginal person,” he said, adding that they were “very rarely, if ever, acknowledged by name.”
This historical oversight reinforces the need to imbue contemporary conservation practices with Indigenous knowledge. Australia is facing up to its own ecological inheritance. It’s being increasingly understood that involving traditional custodians—as the original guardians of this land—is key to protecting biodiversity.
