BY FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., Ph.D., ETC. 287 



12. Black Opossum Phalangista fuliginosa (i). 



13. Ring-tailed Opossum Phalangista viverrina. 



14. Opossum Mouse Phalangista nana. 



15. Porpoise (?) 



16. Platypus Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. 



17. Water Rat Hydromys chrysogaster. 



18. Rat (long tailed) (?) 



19. Seal (Phoca) on sandy beach (?) 



20. Seal (black) on rocks . . . . Arctocephalus lobatus. 



21. Seal (white-bellied) Stenorhynchus leptonix. 



22. Tasmanian Tiger Thylacinus cynocephalus. 



23. Wallaby Halmaturus Billardieri. 



24. Whale (?) 



25. Wombat . Phascolomys wombat. 



Milligan's list of words is by no means very satisfac- 

 tory, and rather carelessly compiled. We find, for in- 

 stance, that the two species of Dasyurus occur under two 

 different headings, viz., Cat (large native), Cat (small 

 native), and again Xative Cat (large), Native Cat (small), 

 and the first time the Dasyurus masculatus is called 

 luyennah, and the second time this name is given to 

 Dasyurus viverrinus. 



The name for mouse again occurs later on under the 

 heading Rat, long bandicoot nose; the same applies to 

 Echidna setosa, which is first referred to as " ant eater," 

 and later on as " porcupine." The " rat " mentioned on 

 page 39 is apparently the same as the " long-tailed rat " 

 on page 40, and it need hardly to be mentioned that the 

 words " dog " and " spaniel " are the same. 



Though Alilligan enumerates 30 names of mammals, 

 these represent only 25 different species, as above men- 

 tioned. These 25 species, or, if we omit the whale and 

 the porpoise, practically represent the whole of the 

 mammalian fauna occurring in the island, a fact which 

 proves that the mammals must have played a great role 

 in the life of the Aborisfines. 



(i) Including the common or grey opossum. Phalangista vul- 

 pina. The grey opossum is, and probably was, much more 

 common than the black one. If the Aborigines did not distin- 

 guish between a grey and a black opossum, is it probable that 

 they would have given different names to the great and the 

 brush kangaroo, which are much more alike than the black and 

 the grey opossum? 



