Organism Profile for a Wombat

Vombatus Ursinus Organism Profile

Vombatus ursinus is the scientific name given to the organism commonly known as the common Wombat (Matthews & Green, 2012). The common wombat is also referred to as the bare-nosed wombat, or coarse-haired wombat. There are three subspecies of wombats namely Vombatus ursinus hirsutus, Vombatus ursinus tasmaniensis, and Vombatus ursinus. The common Wombat is mainly found in Flinders Island of the Bass Strait Islands. Wombats prefer living in the temperate forest areas of southern Australia. They tend to avoid rainforests, and they are mostly found in the mountainous areas. In Tasmania and South wales, Wombats are found at lower attitudes win open vegetation like woodlands, heathland, and coastal scrub. Wombats prefer to dig their shelters on slopes above gullies and creeks, and they feed in grassy clearings. Wombats are native to Australia, and they belong to the Vombatidae family. Many people have noted that the wombats appear to be smiling because of their huge teeth. Wombats have a lifecycle of 12 years, and they breed any time during the year provided the climate is favorable.

Background

The common wombat will range between 75-85 cm in length and weigh around 20kg. However, wombats are known to reach up to 35 kg and 1.2 meters. The body of a wombat is squat and bearlike with small ears and eyes and a large nose. Wombats have powerful shoulders and a small tail around 25 mm in length that is hidden by fur. Their fur can be grey, brown, or black, but most of the time the fur is colored in dirt. Wombats have large paws and claws that they use for digging. They differ from other marsupials because in their upper jaw they only have two incisor teeth. The common distinguishing features of a common wombat are large and naked nose, short slightly rounded ears, and coarse, thick coat.

Wombats generally give birth to a single young called a joey, but twin do occur in rare cases. The gestation period of a wombat is between 20-22 days. According to Story, Driscoll, and Banks (2014) when a joey is born, it is extremely small and underdeveloped, and it will weigh approximately 2 grams and be about the size of a jellybean. The joey is hairless with very thin skin and it cannot keep itself warm. They cannot see or hear, but they have a well-developed sense of smell. Immediately it is born the joey will crawl into its mother's pouch where it will attach itself to one of the teats. The teat then swells up in the joey's mouth in order to keep the joey attached and prevents it from falling out of the mother's pouch. The joey remains in the mother's pouch nursing and developing for around four to ten months, normally averaging eight months. Initially, the joey will leave the pouch for short periods. When it is frightened or disturbed, it will return to the mother's pouch for safety. After one to three months of this behavior, the joey will no longer use the pouch, but it may still hide under its mother for protection. Young wombats are weaned at 11 to 15 months. At night, the young wombat is left alone in the burrow when the mother goes to forage for food. Later on, it might start to follow its mother as it matures. The mother rips up tender grass roots and leaves it on the ground for the young wombat. During this period, the young wombat grows rapidly and will double its body weight within three to eight months of being weaned.

The young wombat stays with its mother for about two years, but some leave their mothers shortly after being weaned. Some will stay with their mothers until they are fully grown, and the mother is forced to chase them away. Females tend to stay longer with their mothers than males. Roger, Bino, and Ramp (2012) have shown that wombats are ready to breed after their second year.

Wombats are believed to have evolved from some common marsupial ancestor. They originated in North America and migrated to South America and then to Australia before the continental drift. Wombats are known to have existed from a few fossil teeth, and the teeth did not grow initially in the early Miocene. In the late Miocene, a different variety of wombats evolved. The Warendja wakefieldi wombats lived from ten million years ago to 40,000 years ago (Brewer, Archer, Hand, & Abel, 2015). The Phascolonus gigas or giant wombat lived from two million to 40,000 years ago. They are the largest wombats in existence, and they did not burrow. Phascolomys medius lived from two million to 40,000 years ago. The Vombatus emerged around two million years ago, and they were first described in 1800.