INTllODUCTION. 13 



frequents the bard grounds of the interior, over which it is 

 di9|)(;rs(;d from New »South Wnh^s to West(>rn Austridia, The 

 spccilic term of ecnudnlus, lirst appHed to this animal in conse- 

 quence of the specimen characterized being destitute of the 

 caudal appendage, must now sink into a synonym, that organ 

 being as well develoj)ed in this as in any other of the smaller 

 quadrupeds, the Pernnieles for instance, to which this singular 

 animal is somewhat allied. 



The root-feeding Dalgytc, or Pcragalca InyoiM, leads us still 

 nearer to the genus Perameles : the fauna of Western Australia 

 is greatly enriched by the addition of this beautiful species, 

 1 believe that South Australia may also lay claim to it; for 

 1 have seen a tail, said to have been obtained on the south 

 coast, which greatly resembled that of the Swan River Pera- 

 galea ; but it may have pertained to an allied animal with which 

 we are not yet acquainted. 



The members of the restricted genus Perameles are numerous 

 in species, and universally dispersed over the whole of Australia 

 and Van Diemen^s Land; they also extend in a northerly direc- 

 tion to New Guinea and the adjacent islands. Of this genus 

 there arc two well-marked divisions : one distinguished by bands 

 on their backs or crescentic markings across their rumps and by 

 their diminutive tails, the other by a uniformity in their colour- 

 ing. The s})ecies of the former division inhabit the hot stony 

 ridges bordering the open plains ; those of the latter the more 

 humid forests, among grass and other dense vegetation. Figures 

 of most of these Bandicoots, as they are called, and an account 

 of the manners, habits, and economy of each, so far as known, 

 will be found in their proper places in the body of the work. 



The Phascogales, of which there are three, namely P. peni- 

 cillnta, P. calura, and P. lanigera, are all natives of the southern 

 portions of Australia, from east to west ; they are, however, 

 rather denizens of the interior than of the provinces near the 

 coast, but the P. penicilloia is alike found in both. Their denti- 

 tion indicates that they are sanguinary in their dis])osition, — 



