Myrmecobius fasciatus Skull Replica measures 2.5 inches. Myrmecobius fasciatus Skull Replica is museum quality replica polyurethane cast. Made in USA. 2-part skull (separate cranium & jaw). Known as the Numbat banded Anteater.
The Numbat-Banded Anteater, Noombat, Walpurti or Myrmecobius fasciatus is an insectivorous marsupial native to Western Australia and recently re-introduced to South Australia. The species is also known as noombat or walpurti.
The species was once widespread across southern Australia, but is now restricted to several small colonies in Western Australia.
It is therefore considered an endangered species and protected by conservation programs. Numbats were recently re-introduced to fenced reserves in South Australia and New South Wales. The numbat is the faunal emblem of Western Australia.
The Numbat-Banded Anteater or Myrmecobius fasciatus diet consists almost exclusively of termites.
The numbat is a small, colorful creature between 14 and 18 in. long, including the tail, with a finely pointed muzzle and a prominent, bushy tail about the same length as its body.
Color varies considerably, from soft grey to reddish-brown, often with an area of brick red on the upper back, and always with a black stripe running from the tip of the muzzle through the eyes to the bases of the small, round-tipped ears.
Between four and eleven white stripes cross the animal’s hindquarters, which gradually become fainter towards the mid-back. The underside is cream or light grey, while the tail is covered with long, grey hair flecked with white.
Unlike most other marsupials, the Numbat-Banded Anteater or Myrmecobius fasciatus is diurnal, largely because of the constraints of having a specialized diet without having the usual physical equipment for it.
Most ecosystems with a generous supply of termites have a fairly large creature with powerful forelimbs bearing heavy claws.
Numbats are not large, and they have five toes on the fore feet, and four on the hind feet.
Like other mammals that eat termites or ants, the numbat or Myrmecobius fasciatus has a degenerate jaw with up to 50 very small, nonfunctional teeth, and although it is able to chew, rarely does so, because of the soft nature of its diet.
Uniquely among terrestrial mammals, the Myrmecobius fasciatus has an additional cheek tooth located between the premolars and molars; whether this represents a supernumerary molar tooth or a deciduous tooth retained into adult life is unclear.
