BV R. BROOM. 707 



examination he probabl}'- sees the little animal sitting on one of 

 the higher branches, from which, with a well-aimed shot, there is 

 little ditiiculty usually in dislodging it. Should the animal be 

 merely wounded, it is not improbable that it may hang suspended 

 ]>y its prehensile tail, and occasionally it may continue so to hang 

 after it is quite dead, especially if it has managed to catch its tail 

 round a small twig Except during the pairing season the 

 animals are usually seen singly. The ring-tailed phalangers 

 {/'setidochirus) and the great flying phalangers {Petauroides) are, 

 on the other hand, generally found in pairs. 



About the month of March the phalanger begins to breed, 

 though there is apparentl}' some little difference in the exact 

 breeding season in different years. Thus in 1896 the majority of 

 the females had their young three or four weeks earlier than in 

 1895. Though there are two teats iu the pouch there is almost 

 never more than one young one at a time. My friend Mr. 

 Walter Scott, of Golspie, who has rendered me most valuable 

 assistance in the collection of specimens, and to whose kindness I 

 owe most of my intra-uterine stages, though he has shot many 

 thousands of phalangers, has only on one occasion come across a 

 case of twins, which he kindly sent me with the pouch. 



The exact period of gestation and the rate of growth of the 

 foetus could only be found with certainty by breeding in captivity, 

 but by taking into consideration the average degree of develop- 

 ment at different dates the rate of growth can lie approximated. 

 For though there are individuals which have their young some 

 weeks later and others earlier than the rest, the large majority 

 agree very closely in then- time of breeding. Thus on 11th May, 

 1895, out of 12 females shot 10 had mammary foetuses varying 

 from 20 to 70 mm. in length, but averaging 40 mm., while two 

 had ova in the uterus in early segmentation and primitive streak 

 stages. By the following moon — for, of course, after a week's 

 shooting by one moon nothing further can be done till nearly 

 three weeks — most of the young averaged from 60-85 mm., while 

 in the beginning of July the mammary foetuses averaged from 

 100-130 mm. By August the little one is well furred and able 



