i 9 o THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



is eighteen inches long. Its short ears give the Bridled Wallaby a 

 "smart" appearance. The Bridled Wallaby is very abundant; it 

 is distributed over the interior of Northern Queensland, New South 

 Wales and Victoria, and is generally admired for its elegant form. 

 The male is much larger than the female, but both are charming in 

 appearance. Their favourite haunt is in the low, stony ranges, and 

 they love to be in company, being of gregarious habit. The spur- 

 tail of the Bridled Wallaby and the other members of the genus 

 differentiate them from all other mammals, with the exception of 

 the Lion. 



Many are the theories which have been put forward to account 

 for the peculiarity. Of what use is the spur? — that is the question 

 which has puzzled generations of naturalists. No one has yet been 

 able to give a satisfactory explanation, but the writer has some 

 slight reason to think that the Spur-Tailed Wallabies make use of 

 their spurs as aids to foothold among the rocks. Whatever its use 

 may be, it gives its possessors great distinction in the matter of 

 tails. The Bridled Wallaby has two relatives, who also possess 

 spur-tails. All frequent rocky solitudes. 



BLACK-GLOVED WALLABY. — The Black-Gloved Wallaby (Fig. 

 150) is of medium size, and slender and graceful in form. Its fur 

 is soft and thick, colour on the upper parts of the body bluish-grey, 

 on the under-parts grey, with a yellow tinge. The fingers and toes 

 are black, the tail grey, witli a clearly defined crest of black hairs 

 above and underneath. The head and body of a full-grown 

 specimen of M. irma will measure about thirty-two inches in 

 length, and the tail about twenty-nine inches. The Black-Gloved 

 Wallaby is found only in the southern portion of Western 

 Australia, where it is the sole representative of its group. It is a 

 very beautiful creature, and abundant in its habitats, but little is 

 known regarding its habits. It is generally seen in the dense 

 scrub jungles of the Western State. 



PADEMELON WALLABY.— The Pademelon Wallaby is one of 

 the best-known species in Victoria, New South Wales and Queens- 

 land, the three States of the Commonwealth through which it 

 ranges. It is particularly abundant in New South Wales in the 

 "big scrub" districts. It is a very graceful little creature, with 

 long ears springing from a shapely head. The fur is thick and 

 soft, grey on the upper portions of the body (rufous on the neck), 

 and white on the under-parts. The length of the head and body 



