Beastfile · Mammals

Wombat

Vombatus ursinus

Also known as Common Wombat, Bare-Nosed Wombat

The only animal that produces cube-shaped droppings, and it does it on purpose.

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Overview

The wombat is the only animal known to produce cubic feces, and the mechanism was worked out only recently. The last stretch of intestine has walls of varying stiffness, so as the very dry contents are squeezed along, the flexible sections push outward and the rigid sections hold, forming flat faces and corners. The point appears to be that cubes do not roll: a wombat leaves its droppings on rocks and logs as scent posts, and a round one would fall off. The rest of the animal is built for digging, including a rump of tough, fibrous tissue that it uses as a shield at the burrow entrance.

A wombat grazing on grass, seen from the side

Origin

Forest, heath and mountain country in southeastern Australia and Tasmania, in extensive burrow systems.

Habitat

Forest

Notable Traits

•Produces cube-shaped droppings, unique among animals
•A tough, fibrous rump it uses to block its burrow
•A pouch that opens toward the back legs, not the head
•Food takes about 40 to 80 hours to pass, leaving very dry waste
•Burrow systems that can run tens of meters

Conservation

Least Concern for the common wombat, though the northern hairy-nosed wombat is Critically Endangered and confined to a tiny area. Vehicle strikes and mange are the practical pressures.