Specimen C 2900 Articulated Skeleton - Pig-Footed Bandicoot, Murray & Darling Rivers Junction, 1857, Chaeropus ecaudatus ecaudatus Ogilby, 1838

Summary

Articulated skeleton, with anterior and posterior limbs retaining traces of internal armature wire that would have formed attachment to original base. The complete skeleton is present, however the skull, lower jaws, right hind-limb and tail have become detached. Original display label present, but original stand missing.

Collected during William Blandowski's Victorian government-sponsored expedition to the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers (December 1856 - December 1857), specifically during the eight months that the expedition was based at Mondellimin (Chaffey Landing at Merbein, near Mildura) from April-December 1857 (see the Historical Narrative). The precise locality and date of collection for this specimen are not known. It is one of a series of eight specimens of Pig-footed Bandicoot from the expedition that were collected in a cooperative effort by the expedition naturalist Gerard Krefft and local teams of Aboriginal people (August-November 1857). All specimens came from the area around 'Gol Gol Creek and the Lower Darling' (New South Wales side of the Murray River), and were collected after Blandowski had left his field party in August 1857 and returned to Melbourne. The resulting skeletons and skins were shipped to the Public Museum then located at the University of Melbourne and headed by Frederick McCoy. In February 1858, Krefft was employed to sort the collection, and four skins were stuffed and mounted and two skeletons were prepared. George Fulker was the museum taxidermist at the time, however the articulation of the present specimen cannot yet be attributed to him with any certainty. This specimen is scientifically important as one of the few surviving examples in museum collections of this now-extinct species.

Previous registration number 34018, Blandowski Catalogue number unknown.