William C. McDevitt, Jr., age 11, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for his question:

Is there an animal called a bandicoot?

There is not only one animal called a bandicoot, but two. The two types seem to resemble each other, but they are not related. For countless ages they have lived on opposite sides of the globe and one type has an amazing array of cousins. Both types of bandicoot look somewhat like long nosed, rat like rabbits. One type is indeed a member of the rodent clan    the other is not.

The original bandicoot is an over sized rat of India and Ceylon. His odd name means "the pig rat" and he is a menace to the local gardens and rice fields. His name was borrowed to name a long nosed, rabbit like animal of Australia. However, this Australian bandicoot is a marsupial. His kinfolk are the kangaroos, the wombats, the koalas and other pouched mammals. His family name is Peramelidae, meaning the pouched badgers, and his assorted first cousins live in Tasmania and New Guinea. The group is described as having polyprotodont dentition and diprotodont syndactylous feet. This merely means that the bandicoot has more than his share of teeth, and that his toes are joined, leaving his claws free.

Regardless of his fancy family name, the bandicoot is not a badger    though he digs like one. The common bandicoot looks like a smallish, long nosed, long eared rabbit with a rat like tail and extra long, strong back legs. His coarse fur is fawn colored with darker shadings, and he has a white vest, hose and tail. The bilby bandicoot of the arid desert regions has longer ears and a coat of slatish blue grey. This fellow can burrow faster than a man can dig. He sleeps sitting on his haunches with his ears folded down and his pointed nose tucked cosily between his dainty front paws.

The bandicoots are very frisky animals. They hop along like small kangaroos, pausing to dig frantically for worms and snails, grubs and other insects found in the ground.. Sometimes they even catch mice. Before the food is eaten, it is kneaded and pounded into a soft ball. The male bandicoot is a scrappy character, always ready for a duel with another male bandicoot. The elaborate bout begins with a circular chase, as the contestants maneuver for the best positions. They fight back to back, striking each other with their hind feet, scratching and clawing out tufts of fur until the loser retreat    no doubt to fight another day.

Mrs. Bandicoot bears either twins, triplets or quadruplets and the tiny, helpless babes spend their infancy inside her fur lined pouch. When old enough, they climb out and scramble through her thick fur, holding on for dear life. Their favorite perch is on her shoulders. For awhile, the mother carries them around in this fashion wherever she goes. As they grow stronger and bolder they hop down and practice digging for their own dinners. But until they can be independent, the young bandicoots pack themselves back inside their mother's pouch when the time comes to sleep.

The largest bandicoot is as big as a rabbit, the smallest is no bigger than a chipmunk. There is a pig footed bandicoot with claws that resemble a pig's trotters. There is also a spiny bandicoot with porcupine like quills mixed with his shaggy fur. The anteater bandicoot is not really a marsupial because the female does not have a pouch. She hides her helpless infants in a den, usually in a hollow tree.