26 



racter found in no other species of the šame group ; but a drawing 

 of the fore-foot, afterwards found by Major Mitchell, and likew'ise 

 exhibited to the Society on the present occasion, had considerably 

 shaken this first opinion, and induced Mr. Ogilby to suspect that 

 the animal may eventually form the type of a new genus. Ac- 

 cording to Major Mitchell's drawing, and the notes -ft-hich he took 

 at the time of examimng the specimen, it would appear that there 

 were only two toes on the fore-feet, ■vvhich w'ere described as having 

 been so perfectly similar to those of a pig, as to have procured for 

 the animal the name of the pig-footed bandicoot, among the per- 

 sons of the expedition. 



The drawing of the foot, in fact, very closely resembles that of 

 the genus Sus in form and characters ; two toes only are represented, 

 short, and of equal length ; but there is a swelling at the base of 

 the first phalanges, which renders it probable that there may be two 

 smaller ones behind. The Perameles, on the contrary, have three 

 middle toes on the fore feet, all of equal length, and armed with 

 very long, powerful claws, besides a small rudimentarj^ toe very di- 

 stinctly marked on each side. The form and character of the hind 

 feet were perfectly similar to those of the Perameles ; as w'ere also 

 the teeth, as far as could be judged from the drawing, except that 

 the canines did not appear to surpass the anterior molars in point of 

 size. The ears were long, elliptical, and nearly naked ; the head 

 broad between the ears, and very much attenuated towards the muz- 

 zle ; the body about the size of a sraall rabbit, and the fur very much 

 of the šame ąuality and colour as in that animal. Mr. Ogilby, after 

 expressing his confidence in the fidehty of Major MitcheU's draw- 

 ings, and the care \vith which that gentleman assured him he had 

 made the observation in ąuestion, expressed his belief that this 

 animal would be found to constitute a new genus of Marsupials, 

 and proposed for it the provisional name of Chceropus, in aUusion to 

 the described characters of the fore feet. 



The following is the notice of this animal inserted by Major Mit- 

 chell in his Journal, on the occasion of first discovering it. "June 16, 

 1836. The most remarkable incident of this daj^'s journey was the 

 discovery of an animal of \vhich I had seen only a head in a fossil 

 statė in the limestone caves of Wellington Valley, -vvhere, from its 

 very singular form, I supposed it to belong to some extinct species. 

 The chief pecuUarity then observed was the broad head and very long, 

 slender snout, which resembled the narro\v neck of a wide bottle ; but 

 in the living animal the absence of a tail was still more remarkable. 

 The feet, and especially the fore legs, were also singularly formed, the 

 latter resembling those of a Pig ; and the marsupial opening \vas 

 downwards, and not upwards, as in the Kangaroo and others of that 

 class of animals. This ąuadruped was discovered by the natives on 

 the ground ; but on being chased it took refuge in a hollow tree, from 

 which tliey took it alive, all of them declaring that they had never 

 before seen an animal of the kind. This was where the party had 

 commenced the journey up the left bank of the Murray, immedi- 



