492 THE MYRMECOBIUS. 
but the tender young are defended from danger by the long hairs which clothe the under 
portions of the body. 
It is a beautiful little animal, the fur being of agreeable tints and diversified by several 
bold stripes across the back. The general “colour of the fur is a bright fawn on the 
shoulders, which deepens into blackish-brown from the shoulders to the tail, the fur of the 
hinder portions being nearly black. Across the back are drawn six or seven white bands, 
broad on the back and tapering off towards their extremities. The under parts of the body 
are of a yellowish-white. The tail is thickly covered with long, bushy hair, and has a 
evizzled aspect, owing to the manner in which 
the black and white hairs of which it is 
composed are mingled together. Some hairs 
are annulated with white, red-rust, and black, 
so that the tints are rather variable, and never 
precisely the same in two individuals. 
The leneth of the body is about ten inches, 
and the tail measures about seven inches, so 
that the dimensions of the animal are similar 
to those of the common water vole of Europe. 
It is an active animal, and when running, 
its movements are very similar to those of the 
common squirrel, When hurried, it proceeds 
by a series of small jumps, the tail being 
elevated over its back after the usual custom 
of squirrels, and at short intervals it pauses, 
sits upright, and casts an anxious look in 
all directions before it again takes to flight. 
Although not a particularly swift animal, it 
is not an easy one to capture, as it imme- 
diately makes for some place of refuge, under 
a hollow tree or a cleft im rocky ground, and 
when it has fairly placed itself beyond the 
reach of its pursuers, it bids defiance to their 
efforts to drive it from its haven of safety. 
Not even smoke—the usual resort of a 
hunter when his prey has gone to “earth” 
and refuses to come out again—has the 
least effect on the Myrmecobius, which is 
either possessed of sufficient smoke-resisting 
powers to endure the stifling vapour with 
impunity, or of sufficient courage to yield its 
life in the recesses of its haven, rather than 
deliver itself into the hands of its enemies. 
The food of the Myrmecobius is supposed 
chiefly to consist of ants and similar diet, 
as it is generally found inhabiting localities 
where ants most abound. For this kind of food it is well fitted by its long tongue, 
which is nearly as thick as a common black-lead pencil, and is capable of protrusion to 
some distance. In confinement, a specimen of the Myrmecobius was accustomed to feed 
on bran among other substances. It is known that in the wild state it will eat hay, as 
well as the “manna” that exudes from the branches of the eucalypti. 
It is avery gentle animal in its disposition, as, when captured, 1t does not bite or scratch, 
but only vents its displeasure in a series of little grunts when it finds that it is unable to 
make its escape. The number of its young is rather various, but averages from five to 
eight. The usual habitation of the Myrmecobius is placed in the decayed trunk of a fallen 
tree, or, in default of such Jodging, is made in a hollow in the ground. It is a native of 
the borders of the Swan River. 
MYRMECOBIUS.—Myrmecobius fasciatus. 
