About Bettongia gaimardi (Desmarest, 1822)
The eastern bettong (Bettongia gaimardi) is also called the southern bettong or Tasmanian bettong. It is a small, hopping, rat-like mammal that is native to grassy forests of southeastern Australia and Tasmania. It belongs to the rat-kangaroo family Potoroidae. It is active during the night, and feeds on fungi and plant roots. Like most marsupials, it carries its young in a pouch. The eastern bettong is currently threatened by introduced predators and habitat loss. The mainland Australian subspecies, B. g. gaimardi, is extinct, but populations of the Tasmanian subspecies, B. g. cuniculus, have been reintroduced to mainland Australia. The Ngunnawal Aboriginal people call this animal balbo, and they historically kept these bettongs as pets.
