133 MARSUPIAL1A 



head disproportionately large for the body ; muzzle sbort and 

 broad ; ears broad and rounded ; tail of moderate length, and 

 evenly hairy. Hallux wanting ; soles of feet naked, without defined 

 pads. Humerus with entepicondylar foramen. 



This genus is now represented only by a single species 

 (S. ursinus) found in Tasmania, where, from its ferocious and des- 

 tructive habits, it is commonly known under the name of the " Devil." 

 A front view of the skull is shown in Fig. 35. 



The prevailing colour of this animal is black, and the size about 

 equal to that of an English Badger ; its habits are fossorial, and it 

 is very destructive to sheep. On account of the similarity in the 

 number of its teeth this genus has been generally included in the 

 next one, but in the structure of the teeth it is much nearer to 

 Thylacinus. An extinct species is found in the Pleistocene deposits 

 of the mainland of Australia. 



It may be observed that the two premolars missing from ' the 

 typical series of four in this and the next genus are the second and 

 the fourth ; the fourth milk-molar being likewise absent. In 

 Thylacinus and other Polyprotodonts with three premolars it is the 

 second that is missing. 



Dasyurus. 1 — Dentition : i -J, c \, p f , m -f- ; total 42. Upper 

 incisors nearly ecpial, and placed vertically ; first slightly longer, 

 narrower, and separated from the rest. Lower incisors sloping 

 forwards and upwards. Canines large and sharply pointed. Pre- 

 molars with compressed and sharp-pointed crowns, and slightly 

 developed anterior and posterior accessory basal cusps. True 

 molars with numerous sharp-pointed cusps. In the upper jaw the 

 first three with crowns having a triangular oral surface, the fourth 

 small, simple, narrow, and placed transversely. In the lower jaw 

 the molars more compressed, with longer cusps ; the fourth not 

 notably smaller than the others. Form viverrine. Ears long and 

 narrow, prominent, and obtusely pointed. Hallux rudimentary, or 

 absent ; its metatarsal bone always present. Tail long and well 

 clothed with hair. Humerus without an entepicondylar foramen. 

 Vertebra? : C 7, D 13, L 6, S 2, C 18-20. 



The Dasyures are small Civet-like animals with a gray or brown 

 pellage profusely spotted with white ; they are mostly inhabitants 

 of the Australian continent and Tasmania, where in the economy of 

 nature they take the place of the smaller predaceous Carnivora, the 

 Cats, Civets, and Weasels of other parts of the world. They hide 

 themselves in the daytime in holes among rocks or in hollow trees, 

 but prowl about at night in search of the small living mammals 

 and birds which constitute their prey. The species are not numer- 

 ous, and include D. maculatus, about the size of a common Cat, 

 inhabiting Tasmania and the southern part of Australia ; D. viver- 

 1 Geoffroy, Bull. Soc. Philom. vol. i. p. 106 (1796). 





