310 THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 



Description of a New Species of Perameles, from New Ireland 

 — by E. Pierson Ramsay, Curator of the Australian 

 Museum, Sydney. 



Perameles Cockerellii. Nov. Sp. 



Head conical, pointed ; snout long, tapering ; eye small ; ears 

 small, rounded, almost as broad as long ; limbs short and thick 

 made ; hind feet broad ; nails of fore feet strong, arched, rounded ; 

 the outer and inner toes rudimentary, and without nails ; the 

 fur harsh ; spiny on the back, composed of flat, grooved 

 spines, black hairs intermixed with fine hair of a rusty 

 brown colour ; on the sides the spiny hairs are blackish, tipped 

 with rusty not so stiff, and mixed with rusty and grey hairs 

 of a finer texture ; the rusty colour more conspicuous on the 

 thighs and hind legs ; under surface light ashy grey or white ; 

 hair on the inner side of the limbs without spines ; feet clothed 

 with flatfish, light ashy brown or grey hairs ; the basal portion of 

 which is brown ; head blackish-brown, with a few fine grey hairs ; 

 snout bare ; sides of the face, throat, and chest light ashy brown ; 

 ears with a few reddish hairs on inner surface, blackish on the 

 outer ; tail blackish above, whitish beneath, apparently naked, 

 but clothed very sparingly with fine hairs. 



From snout to root of tail, 10 inches ; tail, 25 inches; head, 

 2'7 ; fore feet, 1 inch ; nail of longest toe, - 4. 



Hind feet, 1*9 ; longest toe, 0*7; its nail, 0*4. 



From snout to eye, l - 7; from snout to base of ear, 2 '6 ; ear, 

 0-7 x 0-6. 



Hob. New Ireland. 



A larger specimen measured : Total length from snout to root 

 of tail, 12 inches ; tail, 3 - 2 ; hind foot, 2-3 ; fore foot, 1-3 ; from 

 snout to base of eai, 3 inches ; to orbit, 2'2. 



This species I have named after Mr. James Cockerell, who 

 accompanied the Rev. George Brown during his recent missionary 

 voyage to the islands north-east of New Guinea, and from whom 

 the Museum obtained the present specimen, only ^two of which 

 species were obtained during the trip. 



