28 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



The brush-tailed wallaby (/". J'ctticinaia) has a long 

 harsh fur of a dusky brown colour, tinged with 

 purple, and a greyish-white mark extending from the 

 lip to the ear. The two sexes are of equal size. 

 This species is nocturnal in its habits, and, like the 

 two preceding, frequents rocky mountains ; it is wild 

 and shy, and readily ascends sloping trees, so that 

 by persons unaccus- 

 tomed to its appear- 

 ance it has, more than 

 once, been mistaken 

 for a monkey. 



The Ilalmaltiri are 

 distinguished from the 

 two preceding genera, 

 by having the muzzle 

 rather elongated, and 

 the tail shorter than 

 the body, and covered 

 with scales towards 

 the tip. The black 

 wallaby {I/ahnalurus 

 iialal/atiis), the latter 

 word being a Latin- 

 ised form of the 

 native appellation 

 ^^'allaby, or Walla- 

 bee, is an animal of 

 about four feet in 

 length, with a long 

 harsh fur which is 

 blackish-brown in 

 colour, turning to 

 yellow on the under 

 surface of the body ; 

 it is pretty generally 

 diffused throughout 

 the thick brushwood 

 of New South Wales, 

 and is very abundant 

 in the islands at the 

 mouth of the Hunter 

 river. It is distin- 

 guished from all the 

 other kangaroos by a 

 jet-black spot under 

 each arm. 



Parr>''s wallaby is 

 a fine animal of 

 a silvery-grey colour, 

 which turns into 

 purplish-brown upon 



the back ; it is rendered especially conspicuous by a 

 band of pure white extending from the tip of the 

 muzzle, along the cheek, to the angle of the eye. The 

 length of this species is five feet five or six inches ; 

 it is confined to a range of hills extending parallel 

 with the coast from Tort Stephens to Moreton Bay. 

 The Paddymellon, or I'ademelon wallaby, is 



1 8. — The Kangaroo Rat {Hypsipryiniati minor) 





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Fig. 19.— Ursine Opossum {Dasyttrus iirsinns). 



perhaps the most widely diffused, and the best known 

 of all the kangaroos ; it was first brought to Europe 

 by some French navigators, who bestowed upon it 

 the inappropriate designation of Thcditis, after the 

 name of their vessel. It is about three feet in length, 

 and the sexes do not differ in size. 



The kangaroo-hare [La^vrchestcs Icporoides) is 



singularly like our 

 European hare in 

 colour and size, and 

 it is tolerably abun- 

 dant on the plains 

 of South Australia. 

 There is no difference 

 in the size of the 

 sexes. 



The kangaroo-rat, 

 the "putchook" of 

 the aborigines (ffyp- 

 sipryiHuus minor), is 

 considerably smaller 

 than the preceding 

 animal, being about 

 the size of a small 

 rabbit ; it has a head 

 very closely resem- 

 bling that of a rat in 

 shape, and although 

 its hind legs are simi- 

 lar in conformation to 

 those of a true kan- 

 garoo, it always runs 

 upon all-fours ; its 

 prevailing colour is 

 light-brown ; dogs 

 will not eat its flesh, 

 which has a rank, 

 disagreeable odour, 

 but I knew a French- 

 man who did, and 

 pronounced it to be 

 excellent gibier. It is 

 very generally spread 

 all over the country ; 

 the sexes are of equal 

 size. 



Bennet's wallaby, 

 or kangaroo, is very 

 common in Tasmania, 

 where thousands are 

 slaughtered every 

 year for the sake of 

 their hides, which make excellent leather, equal, if 

 not superior, to the best kid — but without, as yet, • 

 causing any appreciable diminution in their numbers. 

 This species is gregarious, roaming in large herds 

 through the dense humid forests of its native land. 

 It might readily, if thought desirable, be domesti- 

 cated in England, as it breeds freely in coufine- 



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