580 



THE POUCHED ANIMALS. 



parts. In accordance with their great diversity in 

 physical structure, the Pouched Animals have little 

 in common in their mode of life: some are carniv- 

 orous, others are vegetable feeders; many live on the 

 ground, others on trees, some temporarily even in 

 the water; the majority have nocturnal habits, but 

 some are active by day also. 



In 1888 Thomas differentiated six families, thirty- 

 seven genera and one hundred and fifty-one species 

 of Marsupialia, which may all be classified accord- 

 ing to their dentition into two suborders, the carniv- 

 orous and the herbivorous forms. 



Iberbivorous poucbefc animals. 



FIRST SUBORDER: Diprotodontia. 



In the suborder of the Herbivorous Pouched Ani- 

 mals there. are three incisors in the upper and only 

 one in the lower jaw, but the latter is particularly 

 long and strong. The premolars are always small 

 and weak, especially those in the lower jaw, which 

 usually fall out early in life and are generally absent 

 in the adult animal. The molars are blunt, but strong, 

 and the entire dentition adapts the animals of this 

 suborder to a diet of fruit and grass. The suborder 

 includes three families: The Leaping Pouched Ani- 

 mals, the Climbing Marsupials, and the Wombats. 



Xeaptng poucbcfc animals. 



FIRST FAMILY: Macropodidjs. 



The first family of the vegetable feeders comprises 

 the Leaping Pouched Animals {Macropodida), dis- 

 tinguished by their dentition and by their peculiar^ 

 ties of form, which in most species are very marked. 

 The upper jaw normally contains three incisor teeth, 

 the anterior one being largest, and a canine tooth 

 being present only in exceptional cases; in the lower 

 jaw there is only one wide, chisel-shaped incisor 

 tooth and the canine tooth is always absent; there 

 are besides four premolars and eight molars in each 

 jaw. The mode of locomotion of the Leaping 

 Pouched Animals is by a series of leaps ; some 

 species, however, know how to climb trees. 



THE KANGAROOS. 



The sub-family of the Kangaroos (Macropodince) 

 contains, besides the giants of the order, creatures 

 of a Rabbit's size, but all possess a highly character- 

 istic structure. The body of the Kangaroo increases 

 in girth from the throat toward the buttocks; and the 

 most largely developed part of the body is the loin 

 region, on account of the great muscular proportions 

 of the hinder limbs. On the other hand, the head 

 and chest are almost rudimentary in development. 

 The locomotion of the Kangaroo is almost exclu- 

 sively performed by the hinder part of the body, 

 and thus the great development of that portion is 

 explicable. The Kangaroo can use its weak fore 

 legs only in a very insignificant way for locomotion 

 and for the grasping of food, while the greatly 

 lengthened hinder legs and the powerful tail enable 

 it to proceed by leaps. The hinder legs and the tail 

 are undoubtedly the most characteristic feature of 

 the animal's structure. The legs have strong thighs, 

 long shins and a disproportionately lengthened foot 



region with strong, long toes, the fourth of each hav- 

 ing a huge, hoof-like nail. The number of toes is 

 only four, as the thumb is lacking. The tail is pro- 

 portionately thicker and longer than that of any 

 other mammal, and extremely muscular. The fore 

 feet of the Kangaroo, which have five toes, each fur- 

 nished with round, moderately and equally devel- 

 oped nails are used by the animal after the fashion 

 of hands. The head partakes of the character of 

 that of a Deer and also bears some resemblance to 

 the head of a Hare. 



Range and Australia and its adjacent islands are 



Habits of the the home of the Kangaroo; the wide, 

 Kangaroo. grassy plains in the interior of the 

 continent form its favorite haunts. Some species 

 prefer bushy localities, others the rocky mountains 

 to the lawn-like, grassy plains, and still others have 

 taken up their abode in almost impenetrable thick- 

 ets, through which they must make passages and 

 paths by breaking limbs and branches; or else they 

 live on the rocks and trees themselves, incredible as 

 this may seem. Most species are active by day; the 

 smaller species, however, are nocturnal animals, hid- 

 ing by day in shallow depressions, which they make 

 their permanent abodes. A few also permanently 

 inhabit rocky crevices. 



The Kangaroos undoubtedly take rank among the 

 most remarkable of mammals. Everything about 

 them is really extraordinary: their movements and 

 their attitudes when at rest, the way they seek their 

 food, their reproduction, their development and their 

 mental qualities. Their ordinary gait, which they 

 assume principally when they are grazing, is a heavy, 

 awkward hobble. The animal supports its fore feet 

 on the ground and then pushes the hinder legs on 

 between them. While doing so, it must also sup- 

 port itself on its tail, as else it could not lift its 

 long hinder legs high enough to render such move- 

 ments possible. But the Kangaroo remains in this 

 inconvenient position no longer than is absolutely 

 necessary. When browsing upon bushes or trees 

 it always sits on its hinder legs and tail and lets 

 the fore legs hang down limply. Whenever it has 

 plucked some favorite plant, it assumes the erect 

 position to consume it. It supports its body on the 

 soles of its hind feet and on its tail, which is firmly 

 planted on the ground behind, the body thus resting 

 securely and conveniently as if on a tripod. In their 

 sleep the smaller species adopt a position similar 

 to that of a Hare in its form: closely crouched to 

 the ground, they squat down on all fours, the tail 

 being extended at length behind the body. This 

 position enables them to take flight instantly. 



When a Kangaroo's suspicion is aroused, its first 

 impulse is to flee. Then it displays all its agility. 

 When its gait is faster than its ordinary grazing hob- 

 ble, it leaps only on its hinder legs, but its bounds 

 surpass those of any other animal in length. It 

 presses its fore limbs tightly against the chest, 

 stretches the tail straight backwards, thrusts the 

 long and slender hind legs against the ground with 

 all the force of the powerful thigh muscles, and 

 darts like an arrow through the air in a low curve. 

 The leaps follow in immediate succession, and each 

 is at least nine feet, but the larger species cover, not 

 infrequently, from twenty to thirty-three feet at a 

 bound, the height of each leap being from six to 

 ten feet. Even captive specimens take leaps of 

 twenty-six feet, if chased back and forth in a large 

 enclosure. It takes quite an excellent Dog to keep 

 pace with a Kangaroo, and indeed there are few 



