416 ZOOLOGY. 



It has, however, a long and slender tongue suited for the purpose of col- 

 lecting honey. The lower incisors are sharp, horizontal, and supposed to 

 assist in piercing and opening a passage for the tongue into the inner parts 

 of the flowers where the honey is lodged. The tail is long, slender, rather 

 sparingly clothed with small stiff" hairs, and having the skin scaly; a small 

 space at the apex beneath is naked. The limbs are all nearly of equal 

 length, the hind legs slightly longer. 



Group 2. Insectivoia. 



Fam. Peuamemd^, is composed of animals of small size, the largest 

 species known being scarcely equal in bulk to the common rabbit. The 

 head is elongated, the facial part narrow and pointed ; ff^ muzzle is naked. 

 The incisors are ten in number in the upper jaw, and six in the lower. 

 There are three pre-molars and four true ones ; one canine ; malving forty- 

 eight in all. The limbs are unequal, the posterior being considerably 

 longer than the anterior. Outer toes of the fore feet, and inner toes of the 

 hind feet, rudimentary or wanting. The tail is usually short, and clothed 

 with small hairs ; sometimes long, and clothed, in parts at least, with very 

 long hairs. Peramelidas have been found in Van Diemen's Land, on the 

 continent of Australia, and New Guinea. They are insect feeders, although 

 they will likewise eat vegetable substances. 



Fossil remains of this family have been found in the caverns of Wellington 

 • Valley. 



The genus Perameles may be divided into several sections. In Macrotis, 

 the ears are very large, the auditory bullae in the form of a double bulb ; 

 the tail long, and clothed with long hairs ; tarsus long, the metatarsus 

 clothed with hair beneath ; the innermost toe of the hind foot wanting ; 

 the lower half of the fibula firmly jointed to the tibia, and the point with its 

 opening directed towards the head of the animal. M. lagotis inhabits 

 Swan River district. In Perameles proper, the feet, tail, and ears are pro- 

 portionally short ; the hind foot with a rudimentary inner toe, naked 

 beneath, in front, and at the heel. The fur is distinctly composed of hairs 

 of two kinds, the one forming a soft under fur, the other hairs coarse, 

 flattened, and longitudinally grooved. The tail is clothed with very short 

 adpressed hairs only. The opening of the pouch is turned backwards. 

 The second section contains most of the species. 



The genus Choeropus, or pig-footed Perameles, has very slender limbs ; 

 the fore feet provided with two toes only, and these small, equal, and fur- 

 nished with short, compressed nails ; the hind feet with but one developed 

 toe, the joined toes being very small, and far removed from the extremity of 

 the foot, and the outer toe being represented by a mere tubercle, placed 

 about midway between the extremities of the foot. All the toes of the 

 hind foot are provided with nails. The muzzle is very narrow, and the 

 ears unusually large. The limbs are very long, too, and remarkable for 

 their slenderness. The hind ones are longer than the anterior. The tail 

 G20 



