﻿KANGAROOS AND WALLABIES. 1 5 



groups are all closely allied to one another ; and although the 

 groups are readily distinguished, yet their distinctive characters 

 are too trivial to be regarded as of generic value. 



I. THE GREAT GREY KANGAROO. MACROPUS GIGANTEUS. 



Yerboa gtgantea, Zimm., Spec. Zool. Geogr., p. 526 (1777). 

 Macropus giganteus, Shaw, Nat. Miscell, vol. i., pi. xxxiii. 

 (1790); Thomas, Cat. Marsup. Brit. Mus., p. 15 (1888). 



{Plate I.) 



Characters. — Size large ; nose hairy between the nostrils ; 

 central hind claw long ; colour greyish-brown, with the under- 

 parts and limbs nearly white. Form comparatively slender 

 and graceful ; fur short, close^ and rather woolly, its direction 

 on the fore part of the body not as constant as in the species 

 with coarser hair. Face coloured like back, with a rather 

 darker *' whisker-mark " on sides of nose ; tail brown^ gradually 

 darkening to the black tip. Length of head and body about 

 60 inches ; tail about 36 inches. 



Distribution. — The whole of Australia, with the exception of the 

 extreme north ; replaced in Tasmania by the variety M. fuligi- 

 nosus, which is characterised by the longer, darker, and coarser 

 hair, of which the general colour is dull smoky grey, without any 

 tinge of fawn, the tail being grizzled grey, with its terminal 

 fourth deep black. A second race {M. melanops)^ known as the 

 Black-faced Kangaroo, and found both in Eastern and South- 

 eastern Australia, is characterised by its smaller size, slighter 

 build, and darker coloration. The general hue is dark brown, 

 with the face darker than the back, and a brown patch across 

 the muzzle connecting the two " whisker-marks " ; while the 

 limbs are not paler than the body. 



Habits. — This species — the Koora of the natives, and the 

 " Old Man " or " Forester " of the colonists — is the commonest 



