PERAMELIDjE 141 



present. Tail long, clothed with long hairs. Fur rather harsh and 

 bristly. Female without any pouch, the young when attached to 

 the nipples being concealed only by the long hair of the abdomen. 

 Vertebrae : C 7, D 13, L 6, S 3, C 23. A gland on the under 

 surface of the body just in advance of the sternum. 



Of this singular genus but one species is known, M. fasciatus 

 (Fig. 41), found in western and southern Australia. It is about the 

 size of an Fnglish squirrel, to which animal its long bushy tail 

 gives it some resemblance ; but it lives entirely on the ground, 

 especially in sterile, sandy districts, feeding on ants. Its pre- 

 vailing colour is chestnut-red, but the hinder part of the back 

 is elegantly marked with broad, white, transverse bands on a dark 

 ground. 



The special interest of this form lies in its apparent relationship 

 to those Mesozoic mammals which possess a large number of true 

 molars (seep. 114); and it is suggested by Thomas that it may 

 eventually be found advisable to include some of the latter in the 

 present subfamily. 



Family Peramelid.e. 



Dentition : i —^- , c - p g, m - • total 46 or 48. Upper incisors 



small, with short broad crowns. Lower incisors moderate, nar- 

 row, proclivous. Canines well developed. Premolars compressed, 

 pointed. Molars with quadrate tuberculated crowns. Fourth pre- 

 molar preceded by a small molariform tooth, which remains in place 

 until the animal is nearly full grown. Fore feet with two or 

 three of the middle toes of nearly equal size, and provided 

 with strong, sharp, slightly curved claws ; the other toes rudi- 

 mentary. Hind feet long and narrow ; the hallux rudimentary 

 or absent ; the second and third toes very slender, and united in a 

 common integument ; the fourth very large, with a stout elongated 

 conical claw ; the fifth smaller than the fourth (see Fig. 43). The 

 ungual phalanges of the large toes of both feet cleft at their ex- 

 tremities (as in Maids among the Edentata, but in no other 

 Marsupials). Head elongated. Muzzle long, narrow, and pointed. 

 Stomach simple. Caecum of moderate size. Pouch complete, 

 opening backwards. Alone among Marsupials they have no clavicles. 



The PeramelidcB form a very distinct family, in some respects 

 intermediate between the sarcophagous Dasytiridce and the 

 phytophagous Macropodidce. In dentition they resemble the former, 

 but they agree with the latter in the peculiar structure of the hind 

 feet. In the construction of the fore feet they differ from all other 

 Marsupials. 



The Bandicoots, as these Marsupials are popularly termed, are 



