THE CUSCUSES. 85 
the genus, this species differs from the two foregoing, in 
| having the inside of the ears nearly or quite naked. 
| 
| Rather inferior in size to the last, and the females smaller 
than the males; fur soft and woolly, very variable in length. 
General colour grey, but varying from nearly white to dark 
greyish-brown, albino individuals, nearly always males, being 
} comparatively common. Upper-parts uniform in tint; the 
| head, back, and outer surface of limbs being of the same hue, 
] which is generally decidedly paler in the males. Upper sur- 
face of muzzle naked for about half the distance to the eyes. 
| The internally naked ears small, and round, well furred over 
|for the greater part of their external surface. Chin and under- 
parts generally pale grey or white; but in some (mostly male) 
individuals the throat and neck strongly suffused with yellow 
jorrufous. ‘Tail usually haired for its basal half above and its 
‘basal fourth below, but very variable in this respect. 
Distribution—Timor, Bouru, Sula, Guébeh, and the islands 
‘eastwards to New Guinea. 
i 
| 
i) 
{ 
) Variety.—In the New Britain group and the Solomon Islands, 
las far eastwards as San Christoval, this species is replaced bya 
(considerably smaller race (P. breviceps), in which the general 
colour is usually darker, and the dark line down the back less 
‘distinctly marked than in the typical form, 
Habits.—Writing of the habits of the Moluccan represen- 
-atives of the genus, Mr. H. O. Forbes observes that these ani- 
nals “are very plentiful, and in May the females all seem to 
have a little one in their pouch. One of them was a tiny 
ereature, about two inches long, quite hidden in its pouch, 
‘ixed by its lips formed into a single round orifice to its 
mother’s teat. They are much eaten by the natives, by 
whom they are caught in nooses set in the trees, or by artifice, 
