THE SPOTTED CUSCUS. 465 
the tints are precisely alike. The brown hue of the fur is in some examples deepened 
into a rich black-brown; others are almost entirely grey on the upper surface of the 
body and parachute membrane ; while specimens of a beautiful white are not of very 
unfrequent occurrence. In all cases, however, the fur of the under portions, and inner 
faces of the limbs, preserves its white hue. 
The whole of the fur is extremely long, being no less than two inches in length on the 
back. It is very soft and silken in te xture, and is remarkably loose and glossy, so that it 
waves in the air at every movement of the animal, or at the touch of every breath of wind 
that may stir the atmosphere. On the tail the hair is remarkably long and bushy, and 
eradually deepens in colour from a pale brown at the base to a dark, blackish-brown at 
the ti p- 
The animal is found inhabiting the vast forest ranges that run from Port Phillip to 
Moreton Bay, and is seldom, if ever, found in any part of the country exeept im the 
eastern or south-eastern districts of New South Wales. 
The food of the Taguan consists of leaves, buds, and the young shoots of trees, chiefly 
of the eucalypti, which it eats only during the hours of night. ‘Tt seldom troubles itself 
to descend to the eround, for it can easily pass from one tree to another by means of the 
wonderful apparatus with which it is gifted, but when it does come to earth, prowls 
about in search of some vegetation that may afford an agreeable variety to the too uniform 
diet of leaves and buds. 
The animals which form the genus Cuscus, and of which the SporreD Cuscus is a good 
example, have been separated from their neighbours on account of the structure of the 
tail, which, instead of being covered with hair, is naked except at its base, and is thickly 
studded with minute tubercles. They are inhabitants of the Molucca Islands, Amboyna 
and New Guinea, and have never been found in New South Wales nor in Van Diemen’s 
Land. The name Cuscus is Latinized from the native term couscous, or coéscoés ; and the 
specific term, maculatus, or spotted, refers to the peculiar markings which decorate the fur 
of the species which is represented in the engraving. 
In size the Cuscus is equal to a tolerably large | cat, as a specimen of average size will 
measure about three feet in total length, the tail being fifteen or sixteen inches long, and 
the head and body about eighteen or nineteen inches. There are, however, several 
examples where the animal has attained to a conside1 ‘ably greater dimension. It is a 
tree-loving aninal, and is very seldom seen away from the congenial haunts among which 
it loves to dwell, and for traversing which it is so admirably adapted by nature. 
The tail of this creature is remarkably prehensile, and the animal never seems to be 
content unless this member be twisted round some supporting object. Whenever the 
Cuscus thinks that it is in danger, or that it may be seen by an enemy, it immediately 
suspends itself by its tail from a branch, and there hangs, swaying about in the wind 
among the leaves as if it were some lifeless fruit. 
It is said that this curious propensity is turned to good account by any one who wishes 
to capture a Cuscus without any trouble on his own part except a large amount of patient 
waiting. When the Cuscus is conscious of the human gaze, and has s suspended itself by 
its tail from a branch, it hangs in counterfeited death until it fancies that the peril is 
overpast. Nothing will induce the animal to give the least signs of life as long as the eye 
is not taken from it. According to popular report, for the absolute truth of which I do 
not vouch, it is said that if the man will steadily keep his eye on the suspended animal, 
it will hang until its wearied muscles refuse to support the weight of its body, and it drops 
helplessly to the ground. 
The movements of the Cuscus among the branches are not characterised by the dashing 
elegance which characterises the arboreal feats of the petaurists, but are slow and cautious, 
the creature never venturing to put itself in a perilous position without having secured 
itself firmly by its tail. On this account it is thought, with some reason, to bear analogy 
to the slow-moving lemurs, to which it bears some sort of external resemblance. The 
food of this animal generally is of a vegetable nature, and consists of fruits, leaves, buds, 
young twigs, and other similar substances ; but the creature is capable of eating animal 
