Numbat
Myrmecobius fasciatus Waterhouse, 1836
The numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) is a marsupial mammal in the family Myrmecobiidae and the order Dasyuromorphia. It is a small, diurnal, terrestrial invertivore with an adult body mass of 471.5 g and up to 700 g.
Quick facts about the numbat
Checklists record it in Australia, and the IUCN Red List classes it as Near Threatened, which is not a threatened category. Gestation lasts 14 days, a litter has 4 young, and sexual maturity is reached at 1.5 years.
- Weight
- 471.5 g – 700 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 6 years – 11.1 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 14 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.5 months – 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.05src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Photos of the numbat
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the numbat live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The numbat is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the numbat?
The numbat (; binomen: Myrmecobius fasciatus), also known as the noombat or walpurti, is an insectivorous marsupial. It is diurnal and its diet consists almost exclusively of termites.
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. World Numbat Day is celebrated each year on the first Saturday in November.
From the Wikipedia article “Numbat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Numbat&oldid=1384193736), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the numbat endangered?
The numbat is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the numbat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderDasyuromorphia
- familyMyrmecobiidae
- genusMyrmecobius
- SpeciesMyrmecobius fasciatus Waterhouse, 1836
Other names and names in other languages (23)
- Banded anteaterEnglish
- Banded anteaterEnglish
- Marsupial anteaterEnglish
- NoombatEnglish
- نمباتArabic
- آكل النمل الجرابيArabic
- mravencojed žíhanýCzech
- AmeisenbeutlerGerman
- Hormiguero MarsupialSpanish
- numbattiFinnish
- PussimuurahaiskarhuFinnish
- Fourmilier marsupial rayéFrench
- WalpurtiItalian
- Formichiere fasciatoItalian
- Formichiere marsupialeItalian
- フクロアリクイJapanese
- BuidelmiereneterDutch
- mrówkożer workowatyPolish
- MirmecóbioPortuguese
- Formigueiro marsupialPortuguese
- НамбатRussian
- Сумчатый муравьедRussian
- MyrpungdjurSwedish
Relatives of the numbat
Other species in the same order Dasyuromorphia.
Thylacine
Thylacinus cynocephalus
Tasmanian devil
Sarcophilus harrisii
Tiger quoll
Dasyurus maculatus
Eastern quoll
Dasyurus viverrinus
Kowari
Dasyuroides byrnei
Chuditch
Dasyurus geoffroii
CompareNumbat vs ThylacineNumbat vs Tasmanian devilNumbat vs Tiger quollNumbat vs Eastern quoll
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a numbat?
The numbat is a marsupial mammal in the family Myrmecobiidae, order Dasyuromorphia.
How heavy is a numbat?
An adult Numbat has a body mass of 471.5 g, with values up to 700 g reported. It is classed as small.
What does a numbat eat?
The numbat is an invertivore, placing it at the carnivore trophic level.
Is the numbat endangered?
No. The numbat is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a numbat live?
The numbat's lifespan is given as 6 years, with values up to 11.06 years reported.
Which countries is the numbat recorded in?
Checklists record the numbat in Australia.
How many young does a numbat have?
A numbat litter has 4 young, after a gestation period of 14 days.
Who named the numbat?
The numbat, Myrmecobius fasciatus, was named by Waterhouse, 1836.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/numbat
“Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/numbat.
@misc{numbat_2026,
title = {Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/numbat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}