It is hard to guess what a Numbat weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) on average weights 517 grams (1.14 lbs).
The Numbat is from the family Myrmecobiidae (genus: Myrmecobius). They can live for up to 6 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 23 cm (0′ 10″). Usually, Numbats have 3 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) is an insectivorous marsupial native to Western Australia and recently re-introduced to South Australia. The species is also known as the noombat or walpurti. Its diet consists almost exclusively of termites. Once widespread across southern Australia, its range is now restricted to several small colonies and it is considered an endangered species. The numbat is an emblem of Western Australia and protected by conservation programs.
Animals with the same weight as a Numbat
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Myrmecobius fasciatus:
- Pemba flying fox bringing 541 grams to the scale
- Sunda flying fox bringing 466 grams to the scale
- Red-handed tamarin bringing 541 grams to the scale
- Mariana fruit bat bringing 458 grams to the scale
- Volcano rabbit bringing 465 grams to the scale
- Black-mantled tamarin bringing 450 grams to the scale
- Bougainville monkey-faced bat bringing 573 grams to the scale
- Long-tailed armored tree-rat bringing 439 grams to the scale
- Darien pocket gopher bringing 437 grams to the scale
- Spermophilus relictus bringing 600 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Numbat
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Numbat:
- Giant golden mole with a size of 23.4 cm (0′ 10″)
- Chinese red pika with a size of 24.5 cm (0′ 10″)
- Ihering’s Atlantic spiny rat with a size of 19.7 cm (0′ 8″)
- Sardinian pika with a size of 22.5 cm (0′ 9″)
- Yellow-faced pocket gopher with a size of 19.2 cm (0′ 8″)
- Fire-footed rope squirrel with a size of 20.5 cm (0′ 9″)
- Cotton-top tamarin with a size of 24 cm (0′ 10″)
- American pika with a size of 19 cm (0′ 8″)
- Red-handed tamarin with a size of 26.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Yucatan squirrel with a size of 23.6 cm (0′ 10″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Numbat
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Numbat:
- Alpine pine vole
- Elias’s Atlantic spiny rat
- Long-tailed marmot
- Kemp’s gerbil
- Bushy-tailed hairy-footed gerbil
- Yucatan deer mouse
- Chiriqui brown mouse
- Wagner’s gerbil
- Raccoon
- Père David’s mole
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Numbat
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Numbat:
- Gansu pika with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Little free-tailed bat with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Cairo spiny mouse with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Mongolian gazelle with an average maximal age of 7 years
- Central African oyan with an average maximal age of 5.33 years
- Spinifex hopping mouse with an average maximal age of 5.17 years
- European water vole with an average maximal age of 5 years
- American pika with an average maximal age of 7 years
- African striped weasel with an average maximal age of 5.17 years
- Rakali with an average maximal age of 6.17 years