162 LLOYD'S NATURAL HISTORY. 
Dasyurus viverrinus, Geoffr., Ann. Muséum, vol. ili, p. 
360 (1804); Thomas, Cat. Marsup. Brit. Mus., p. 265 
(1888). 
Dasyurus maugei, Geoffr., of. cit., p- 359: 
Dasyurus guttatus, Desmarest, Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., vol. 
Xxiv., p. 10 (1804). 
(Plate XX VI.) 
Characters.—Size medium ; form slender ; fur thick and soft. 
General colour either pale grey or black, spotted with white. 
Ears large. Hind foot without the first toe (hallux) ; soles of 
feet granulated, without distinct pads. Tail bushy, its basal 
three-fourths coloured like the back, but without spots, the tip 
white. Length of head and body about 18 inches; of tail 12 
inches. 
The most interesting peculiarity of this species is the fre- 
quent occurrence of (melanistic) specimens in which the ground- 
colour of the fur is black, instead of the normal grey. Although 
the white spots are as fully developed in the black as in the 
grey variety, the tip of the tail in the former becomes of the 
same sooty hue as the body. For a long time the two were 
regarded as distinct species, but according to Gould both the 
grey and black forms have been found in the same litter, 
although, as we shall see below, this must be an unusual cir- 
cumstance, as it is contrary to the experience of another 
observer. 
Distribution—The eastern watershed of New South Wales. 
Victoria, South Australia, and T asmania. 
Habits.—Writing of the habits of the Common Dasyure, Mr. 
Ogilby observes that “this species, in both varieties, is as much, 
if not more terrestric’ chan arboreal, living in dead rocks, or in 
holes in the cliffs, in which latter place they feed on dead fish, 
and probably crustaceans, molluscs, &c., and are thus fre- | 
