36 MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC WORLD 



Kangaroos {D. bennetti and D. lumholtzi), are dark gray- 

 brown, the former without strong markings. Lumholtz's tree 

 kangaroo has the legs, cheeks, and forehead clear buff color. 

 Both live in the mountains of northern Queensland. 



The Rat Kangaroos (Subfamily Potoroin.e) are consider- 

 ably less kangaroo-like than are the wallabies and true kanga- 

 roos. Their ears are small and rounded and the claws of the 

 hands are large, to suit their scratching and digging habits. 

 The hind legs are nevertheless elongate and well adapted for 

 leaping. Three main groups occur: 



The Short-nosed Rat Kangaroos (Bettongia) include four 

 species, all of which are brownish gray with whitish under- 

 parts. The distribution of the group is limited to southeastern 

 Australia, Tasmania, and southwestern Australia. 



The Rufous Rat Kangaroo {Aeyyprymnus) is the largest of 

 the rat kangaroos. Its total length is a little less than three 

 feet, of which the tail measures fifteen inches. It is reddish 

 gray with underparts white. 



The Long-nosed and Broad-faced Rat Kangaroos {Poto- 

 rous) are all dark reddish gray, with pale underparts, and 

 look even more rat-like than those just described. The hind 

 foot is considerably shorter than the head, and locomotion is 

 more nearly on all fours. 



The ranges of two of the long-nosed rat kangaroos are 

 respectively southeastern Australia (P. tridactylus) and the 

 extreme southwest of Western Australia (P. gilberti) ; that of 

 the broad-faced rat kangaroo (P. platyops) is southwest 

 Western Australia. 



The Musk Kangaroo {Hypsiprymnodon) is regarded as the 

 most primitive animal of the kangaroo family. It is also the 

 smallest. The teeth are least specialized for eating grass and 

 leaves, and the hind foot has five toes. The first toe, absent 

 in other kangaroos, is movable and clawless. The tail is hair- 

 less, covered with scaly skin. The musk kangaroo is dark red- 

 dish brown, slightly paler beneath. The total length is eighteen 



