The Golden Bandicoot is a short-nosed bandicoot

Short-nosed bandicoot

The short-nosed bandicoots are members of the order Peramelemorphia. They can be found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and in Albany, Western Australia.-Species:There are three species in this genus:...

 found in northern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is by far the smallest of its genus, being a little over half the size of its relatives the Northern Brown Bandicoot

Northern Brown Bandicoot

The Northern Brown Bandicoot , a marsupial species, is a bandicoot found only on the northern and eastern coasts of Australia and nearby islands, mainly Papua New Guinea. It is not, however, found far inland....

 (I. macrourus) and the Southern Brown Bandicoot

Southern Brown Bandicoot

The Southern Brown Bandicoot , also known as the Quenda from the local Noongar tongue from South Western Australia, is a short-nosed bandicoot found mostly in southern Australia....

 (I. obesulus).

The Golden Bandicoot is now a threatened species. It was once found throughout much of northwestern Australia, with even a patch on the New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

/South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 border, but it is now restricted to the Kimberley region of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, and to Augustus

Augustus Island

Augustus Island is one of the many uninhabited Canadian Arctic islands in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. It is a Baffin Island offshore island located in inner Frobisher Bay. The island lies at the head of Ward Inlet, between Becher Peninsula and Hall Peninsula. Bruce Island is located at the...

, Barrow

Barrow Island (Western Australia)

Barrow Island is a island located northwest off the coast of Western Australia. The island is the second largest in Western Australia after Dirk Hartog Island.-Discovery and early history:...

 and Middle Islands off Western Australia (I. auratus barrowensis) and Marchinbar Island

Marchinbar Island

Marchinbar Island is the largest island in the Wessel Islands, Northern Territory, Australia, in the Arafura Sea. It is separated from Rimbija Island, the most northeasterly of the Wessel Islands, by a narrow channel, which is less than 400 metres across at its narrowest point...

 of Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

. It is distinguished from the brown bandicoots by its golden colouring and much smaller size.