30 MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC WORLD 



branch several feet away. The food is restricted to certain 

 types of eucalyptus leaves, notably those of gray and blue 

 gum trees in Queensland and New South Wales and the manna 

 gum in Victoria. A single young one is born at a time which, 

 after developing in the backward-opening pouch, commonly 

 rides on the mother's back. The koala is distributed from 

 Queensland to Victoria, in parts now very scarce or extinct. 

 The Honey Possum (Tarsipes), a tiny creature distantly 

 related to the mouse possums, has a long muzzle, a greatly 

 extensible tongue, and a long tail with prehensile tip. The gen- 

 eral color is chestnut-brown on the sides, and on the back there 

 are three blackish longitudinal stripes separated from each 

 other by buffy whitish stripes. The well-developed pouch con- 

 tains four nipples ; the number of young carried therein is from 

 one to four. The total length is about seven inches ; tail, about 

 four inches. The honey possum, which has weak teeth, feeds 

 on the nectar and pollen of flowers and small insects. The 

 animals are nocturnal climbers ; they may be gregarious, a 

 number living together in one hole. They are found only in 

 southwestern Australia. 



The Wombats. Family Vombatid^ 



In this small family are contained the marsupial counterpart 

 of our woodchucks. Although descended probably from tree- 

 dwelling ancestors they have acquired many characters that fit 

 them for burrowing. The bodies are thick and heavily muscular, 

 the limbs powerful, the claws heavy and strong, but the tail is 

 a mere rudiment. The length of head and body is about forty 

 inches. The pouch contains only two nipples ; usually only one 

 young one is born. These nocturnal animals feed upon vegeta- 

 tion—grasses, roots, bulbs, and fungi. Although wombat bur- 

 rows up to one hundred feet long have been measured, most are 

 much shorter. 



Four species of rather similar appearance are known, be- 

 longing to three genera (Vombatus, Lasiorhinus, Wombatula). 



