83 LLOYD’S NATURAL HISTORY. 
Widely different in the structure of its skull and teeth from 
the following genus, the present one, remarks Mr. Thomas, is © 
“not easily definable externally. Its fore feet appear, how- 
ever, to be of more normal construction than in Pseudochirus ; 
its tail is more densely haired terminally, although in this cha- 
racter it is approached by Pseudochirus lemuroides; and in most 
specimens the discoloration of fur caused by the chest-gland 
forms an easy method of recognising its members.” 
I. COMMON PHALANGER. TRICHOSURUS VULPECULA. 
Didelphis vulpecula, Kerr, Linn. Anim. Kingdom, p. 198 (1792). 
Didelphis vulpina, Meyer, Uebers. Zool. Entd. Neuholl., p. 23 
(1793): 
Phalangista vulpina, Desmarest, Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., vol. 
RXV 475 (0017). 
Trichosurus vulpecula, Jentink, Notes Leyden Mus., vol. vii., 
p. 21 (1884) ; Thomas, Cat. Marsup. Brit. Mus., p. 187 
(1888). 
(Plate XT.) 
Characters.—Size small ; fur close, thick, and woolly. General 
colour clear grizzled grey ; chin more or less blackish ; under- 
parts white or dirty yellow, with a median rusty-red patch on 
the chest in adults. Ears long and narrow, much longer than. 
broad, nearly naked inside, and near the tip externally. Feet 
white, grey, or brown. Tail thick, cylindrical, and bushy, with 
the terminal half or two-thirds grey, the end black, and the ex- 
treme tip occasionally white; the naked inferior portion from 
three to six inches in length, and transversely wrinkled. Length 
of head and body about 18 inches ; of tail 11 inches. 
Distribution The whole of Australia, with the exception of 
the Cape York district. 
Variety —The Tasmanian Phalanger (var. Z. fuliginosus) is of — 
larger size and stouter and heavier build than the typical form, 
