MACROPODID.i: 165 



and less compressed than in the last subfamily; they are placed 

 in precisely the same line with the molars. The crowns of the 

 molars always have two prominent transverse ridges; and these 

 teeth increase in size from before backwards, the fourth molar 

 appearing very late. The fore limbs are small, with sul)equal toes 

 armed with strong, moderately long, curved claws. Hind limbs 

 very long and strongly made. Head small, with more or less 

 elongated muzzle. Ears generally rather long and ovate. 



Upwards of forty-four existing species of this group have been 

 described, and many attempts have been made to subdivide them into 

 smaller groups or genera for the convenience of arrangement and 

 description, but these have generally been based upon such trivial 

 characters that it is preferable to speak of many of them as sections 

 of the genus Macropus, reserving generic rank only to forms some- 

 what aberrant in structure. According to this arrangement the 

 genera Anil be as follows : 



Lagostrophus. 1 — Eepresented only by the Banded Wallaby 

 (L. faseiatus) of Western Australia, which presents the following 

 distinctive features. Size small. Muffle naked. Hind feet covered 

 with long bristly hairs, concealing the claws. Lower part of back 

 marked by dark cross-bands. Skull with a narrow pointed muzzle 

 and inflated auditory bullae ; symphysis of mandible firmly united. 

 No canine. Upper incisive series meeting at a sharp angle, and 

 diverging but slightly behind. First incisor smaller in section than 

 either of the others and scarcely longer, bluntly pointed ; second 

 with a flattened oral surface ; third smaller, similarly flattened, but 

 with a groove on oral surface forming a notch at its postero- 

 external angle. Fourth premolar short, with a distinct inner ledge. 

 Molars as in Macropus. 



Dendrolagus. 2 — General proportions of limbs and body normal 

 and unlike those of other members of the family. Muffle broad and 

 only partly naked. Fur on nape, and sometimes on back, directed 

 forwards. Fore limbs nearly as large as the hind ; hind feet with 

 the syndactylous second and third digits relatively large ; claws of 

 fourth and fifth hind digits curved like those of the manus. Tail 

 very long, and thickly furred. Skull stout, with a short and wide 

 muzzle ; the posterior part of the palate fully ossified, and the 

 auditory bullae not inflated. A small canine. Fourth premolar 

 large, but much shorter antero-posteriorly than in the next genus ; 

 molars as in the latter. 



This genus includes four species of Tree-Kangaroos, three of 

 which occur in New Guinea, while D. lumholtzi is found in North 

 Queensland. They differ greatly from all the other forms in being 

 chiefly arboreal in their habits, climbing with facility among the 



1 Thomas, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1886, p. 544. 

 2 Schlegel and Miiller, Verh. Nat. Ges. Nederland, p. 138 (1839-44). 



