Fast Facts on Long-nosed Potoroos

• Potoroos are Marsupials. 

• They are small members of the macropod super-family, in the family Potoroidae along with bettongs and the desert rat-kangaroo (as closely related to kangaroos as bears are to dogs!).

• Five species in the Potoroidae family are native to Victoria, three bettong species and two potoroo species, sadly all of the bettong species are locally extinct.

• Potoroos are mainly nocturnal, resting during day in nests made of leaves under dense cover.  They use a range of microhabitats for different  behaviours such as feeding, sheltering.

• Habitat includes wet forests and wet scrubland. Dense understorey is essential for cover; eucalypt forests are important because potoroos rely on fungi associated with these trees.

• Long-nosed Potoroos are solitary, except in captivity or when females have a young at heel.  They are not territorial.

• The female potoroo carries nesting material with her tail; tails are semi-prehensile.

• Their fur is brown-grey with rufous tinge on flanks; pale grey under parts.

• Size: head and body 340-400mm.  Hind-foot length is shorter than head length.

• Life expectancy: 5 to 6 years in wild / up to 12 years in captivity

• Weight: 660-1600g

• Fungi forms a large part of the Potoroos diet in the wild, which also includes tubers, soil arthropods, seeds, fruits and vegetation.

• In captivity the diet includes meal worms, crickets and other insects supplemented with fresh chopped fruit and vegetables and grains and protein supplements like egg, nuts and seeds, pet food.

• In the wild Potoroos breed once or twice a year depending on climate and habitat conditions with a peak in late winter, however, in captivity they can breed multiple times a year as a result of consistent living conditions and optimal diet.  Potoroos are promiscuous.

• Long-nosed Potoroos give birth to a single young after a gestation period of 38 days.  Newborns weigh 0.3 g

• Young stay in the pouch for between 120- 130 days. After leaving the pouch the young remain near the mother, and still feed for about 40 days (weaned at 170 days).

• Potoroos become sexually mature at around 12 months of age.

• Conservation Status: Long-nosed Potoroos are classified as Vulnerable due to habitat fragmentation; fragmented habitats quickly isolate populations, leading to inbreeding and declines.

• Threats include loss of natural habitat and predation by introduced cats and foxes.

Compiled by Marika Van Der Pol, Conservation Research Assistant.