VII 



TARSIPES 



145 



developed in two not very distant forms. As in the Kangaroos, 

 the atlas is open below. Ph. ursinus has 15 ribs; the other species 

 the normal (for Marsupials) 13. Other points of likeness will be 

 mentioned under the description of the Koala. These animals 



Fm. 72. Skull of Wombat. Phascolomys wombat. (Lateral view. ) ang, Angular pro- 

 cess ; cond, coudyle of mandible ; ex.oc, exoccipital ; ext.aud, opening of bony 

 auditory meatus ; ju, jugal ; Icr, lachrymal ; max, maxilla ; nas, nasal ; p.max, 

 premaxilla ; sq, squamosal ; ty, tympanic. (From Parker and Haswell's Zoology. ) 



mainly feed upon roots ; they live in companies in burrows. There 

 are three species Ph. ursinus, Ph. latifrons, and Ph. mitchelli. 

 Ph. ursinus is Tasmanian in range, the other two species South 

 Australian, 



Sub-Fam. 4. Tarsipedinae. The genus Tarsipes ought per- 

 haps to be removed from the present family. There is but a 

 single species, which is a small creature of 7 inches in total 

 length, of which the tail measures 4 inches. The teeth are 

 much dwindled, the formula being I f C Pm M f = 22. The 

 lower incisors are procumbent. The lower jaw, moreover, has 

 not the characteristic Marsupial inflection. The intestinal canal 

 is without the caecum present in the remaining Phalangeridae. 

 It is a curious fact that this aberrant little Phalanger should 

 come from Western Australia, like the even more aberrant 

 Myrmecobius. Like the latter also, Tarsipes has a long exsertile 

 tongue, with which, however, it extracts honey from flowers. 

 Probably it also catches minute insects in the corollas of the 

 flowers. It has been proved, in fact, that in captivity at any 

 rate the animal is insectivorous ; for it has been known to 

 eat moths. 



Fam. 3. Epanorthidae. The extinct Epanorthidae of Pata- 



VOL. X L 



