THE MYRMECOBIUS. 491 
Night is the usual time for the Tapoa Tafa to leave its home and prowl about in search 
of food, but it is often seen by daylight, and appears to be equally vivacious at either 
time. It is always a most active animal, and chiefly arboreal in its habits, climbing trees 
and skipping among their branches with the agility of a squirrel. Its long tail may serve 
to act as a balance during these excursions, but as it is not in the least prehensile, it 
‘annot afford assistance in the actual labour of passing from one branch to another. 
Its home is generally made in the hollow trunks of the eucalypti, and in those dark 
recesses it produces and nourishes its young. It is very widely distributed over Australasia, 
being found in equal plenty upon plain or mountain, contrary to the usual habits of 
Australian animals, which are generally confined within certain local limits, according to 
the elevation of the ground or the character of the soil. 
On account of the large tuft of black hair that decorates the tail, the Tapoa Tafa 
is in some works mentioned under the title of the “ Brush-tailed Phascogale.” 
THE little animals which are 
grouped together under the title 
of Pouched Mice are tolerably 
numerous, the genus Antechinus 
comprising about twelve or thir- 
teen species. They are spread 
rather widely over New South 
Wales and Southern Australia, 
and as they are prolific creatures, 
they are among the most common 
of the Australian quadrupeds. 
They are all of inconsiderable size, 
the greater number hardly ex- 
ceeding the ordinary mouse in 
dimensions, though one or two 
species nearly equal a small rat 
in size, 
Arboreal in their habits, they 
are among the most active of tree- 
loving quadrupeds, running up 
and down a perpendicular trunk 
with perfect ease, and leaping from 
one branch to another with singular activity ‘of limb and certainty of aim. They can 
even cling to the under side of a horizontal branch, and are constantly seen running 
round the branches and peering into any little crevice, precisely after the manner of the 
ordinary titmice among the birds. They can descend a branch with their heads down- 
ward, instead of lowering themselves tail foremost, as is generally the custom among tree- 
climbing quadrupeds, and traverse the branches with admirable rapidity and liveliness. 
The YELLOW-FooTED PoucHED Movse is a very pretty little creature, its fur being 
richly tinted with various pleasing hues. 
The face, the upper part of the head, and the shoulders, are dark grey, diversified with 
yellow hairs, and the sides of the body are warmed with a wash of bright chestnut. The 
under parts of the body, the chin, and the throat are uniform white, and the tail is black. 
There is often a slight tufting of hair on the extremity of the tail. The total length of the 
animal is about eight inches, the head and body being rather more than four inches and a 
half in length, and the tail a little more than three inches. 
YELLOW-FOOTED POUCHED MOUSE.—Antechinus flavipes. 
The MyrMecostus is remarkable for several parts of its structure, and more especially 
so for the extraordinary number of its teeth, and the manner in which they are placed in 
the jaw. Altogether, there are no less than fifty-two teeth in the jaws of an adult and 
perfect specimen of the Myrmecobius, outnumbering the teeth of every other animal, with 
the exception of one or two cetacea and the armadillo. There is no pouch in this animal, 
