﻿THE PREHENSILE-TAILED RAT- KANGAROO. 69 



generally either escaping by burrowing, or killing themselves by 

 running their heads against the walls of their enclosure. 



II. TASMANIAN RAT-KANGAROO. BETTONGIA CUNICULUS. 



Hypsipryiimus cu?iiculus, Ogilby, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1838, p. 63. 



Bettongia cuntculus, Gould, Monogr. Macropodidse, pi. xxix. 



(1842) ; Thomas, Cat. Marsup. Brit. Mus., p. io6 (1888). 



Characters. — Fur and general colour as in last species, but no 

 trace of a hip-mark ; tail above usually as in B. lesiieuri, but 

 sometimes dark-brown or black towards the tip, beneath dirty 

 white, with the tip sometimes white all round. Length of head 

 and body about 18 inches; of tail 15 inches. 



Distribution. — Tasmania. 



Habits.— Feeding, like the other members of the genus, on 

 roots and grass, this species frequents the open, sandy, or stony, 

 forest-land of Tasmania, avoiding the thick and damp scrub. 



III. gaimard's rat-kangaroo, bettongia gaimardi. 



Kangurus gaimardi, Desmarest, Mamm., SuppL, vol. ii., p. 542 



(1822). 

 Hypsiprymtius whitei, Quoy and Gaimard, Voyage Uranic, 



Zool., p. 62 (1824). 

 Hypsiprymnus formosus, et H. phillippii, Ogilby, Proc. Zool. 



Soc, 1838, p. 62. 

 Hypsiprymnus {Bettongia) gaimardi, Waterhouse, Nat. Hist, 



Mamm., vol. i., p. 207 (1846). 

 Bettofigia gaimardi, Flower, Cat. Osteol., Mus. Roy. Coll. Surg. 



pt. ii., p. 726 (1884); Thomas, Cat. Marsup. Brit. Mus., 



p. 108 (1888). 



Characters.— Fur more woolly than in the other specie'} 



