﻿58 Allen's naturalist's library. 



THE TREE-KANGAROOS. GENUS DENDROLAGUS. 



Dendrolagus^ Schlegel and Miiller, Verhandl. Nat. Ges. Nederl. 

 Ind., p. 138 (1839-44). 



General build of ordinary proportions in regard to the re- 

 lative length of the limbs, and unlike that of the Kangaroos. 

 Naked portion of nose broad and partially covered with scat- 

 tered hairs ; fur on nape, and sometimes on back, directed for- 

 wards. Fore limbs strong, stout, and nearly as long as the 

 hinder pair ; hind feet broad, with the two inner toes not 

 greatly smaller than the other two ; claws stout and strong, 

 those of the two outer toes of the hind foot as much curved 

 as those of the fore foot. Tail very long, thickly and evenly 

 haired. The Kangaroos being such essentially terrestrial animals, 

 it is somewhat surprising to find certain members of the family 

 adapted for an arboreal life. Nevertheless, four species, of 

 which three are from New Guinea, while the fourth is an in- 

 habitant of North Queensland, are dwellers in trees, which 

 they climb with facility. Whether the relatively large size of 

 the fore limbs is a feature which has been re-acquired, or whetlier 

 it is a primitive feature, is a question that does not very readily 

 admit of an answer ; but the close correspondence in the struc- 

 ture of the feet to those of the more typical members of the 

 family would rather seem to be in favour of regarding the 

 relative equality of the limbs as an acquired feature. 



I. QUEENSLAND TREE-KANGAROO. DENDROLAGUS LUMHOLTZI. 



Dendrolagus lumholtzi^ CoWQtt, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1884, p. 387 ; 

 Thomas, Cat. Marsup. Brit. Mus., p. 96 (1888). 



(Plate VII.) 



Characters. — Form stout ; fur long and rnfber coarse, reversed 

 from withers to crown of head. General colour pale, finely 



