j^'^^'l Wild Life in Tasmania. 1C7 



WILD LIFE IN TASMANIA. 

 By (r. \\'eixdorfer and G. Francis. 

 (Communicated l-)3' Dr. C. S. Sutton.) 

 (Read before the Field Naturalists' Cliih of Victoria, Sth Dec, 1919.) 

 The following notes on Tasmanian wild life are the result of 

 observations made by us during periods of nine and fifty years 

 respectively in Middlesex Plains and Cradle Mountain districts. 

 The locality is a remote and picturesque one, and very 

 diversified. Within it are wide, grassy plains or sub-alpine 

 meadows, high wind-swept plateaus verging on an elevation 

 of 4,000 feet, deep river gorges, secluded lakes and pools, 

 cascades and waterfalls, and gloomy forests, into some of the 

 recesses of which no one has ever yet penetrated. In all of 

 these situations, at all times of the day and night, in all 

 weathers and in every season of the year, our information has 

 been picked up, mostly in an accidental way, and in the night 

 time largely by the aid of an acetylene lamp fixed above the 

 rim of the hat by a metal spring band. 



We do not pretend that our records are exhaustive, and, 

 indeed, have refrained as far as possible from setting down 

 such facts as are well known or can be observed in the animals 

 when kept in captivity, but nevertheless hope that they may 

 be of interest to members of the Club. The subjects to be 

 dealt with are as follow : — • 



Phascolomys nrsinus, var. tasmaniensis. 



Macropus ruficollis, var. hennetti. 



Macropus hillardieri. 



Pseudochirus cooki. 



Trichosurus vidpecula, var. fuliginosus. 



Dasy virus mamlatus. 



Dasyiifus viverrimus. 



Strepera fiiliginosa. 



Locality and Climate. 

 The Middlesex Plains and Cradle Mountain districts are 

 situated between 30 and 40 miles due south of the port of 

 Burnie, on the north-west coast. The territory includes the 

 head waters of the Wilmot, Dove, Macintosh, and Fury Rivers 

 and their tributaries, and is, at Middlesex, situated about 

 2,600 feet above sea-level, rising towards the south-west, where 

 it culminates in the Cradle Mount with 5,069 feet. Inter- 

 spersed with grassy plains, deep river-gullies, and high plateaus, 

 it is, in its lower parts, covered with extensive eucalyptus and 

 beech forests, which ascend to an altitude of about 4,000 feet. 

 With the exception of the Van Diemen's Land Company's 

 cattle station and one or two minor runs, it is practically un- 



