The family Peramelidae consists of bandicoots, small to medium-sized terrestrial marsupials native to Australia and New Guinea. Members of this family are omnivorous, feeding on insects, small vertebrates, and plant matter, and they have a distinctive long, pointed snout adapted for probing soil in search of food. Bandicoots are nocturnal and solitary, constructing shallow burrows or nests for shelter. Like other marsupials, females possess a pouch in which they carry and nurse their young, though it is typically rear-opening. Peramelidae play an important ecological role by aerating soil and dispersing seeds, but many species are threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators.