FLYING IN MAMMALS 



save the bare fact that it is, like them, a marsupial. 

 The real and genuine opossums belong to the carnivorous 

 section of the marsupials, the Polyprotodonts. They 

 are, however, tree climbers and have the same pre- 

 hensile tail and sharp claws which distinguish our 

 Trichosurus. The pouch of Trichosurus only harbours 

 at most two young ones and more usually one only. 

 It has not the often enormous philoprogenitiveness 

 of the "'possum." In Australia and Tasmania it is 

 hotly pursued on account of its moderately valuable 

 fur. This is its attraction to the white man. The 

 black man thinks less of the fur than of the flesh be- 

 neath it, and regards Trichosurus, in spite of its rank- 

 ness in the European nostril, as desirable meat. 



BELIDEUS BREVICEPS 



We must not leave the diprotodont marsupials 

 without a reference to the flying forms of which the 

 present representative (also called Petaurus breviceps) is 

 often to be found at the Zoo. It is a small, soft-furred, 

 mousy-looking creature of grey colour with a black 

 stripe down the back. It is not more than eight inches 

 long and has a bushy tail of about the same length. 

 The term " flying " as applied to these phalangers must 

 not of course be taken literally. They cannot soar 

 upward like a bird ; the most that can be done is a series 

 of skims from bough to bough, the distance to the ground 

 being lessened at each effort. The flying, such as it 

 is, is effected by a parachute-like membrane attached 

 along the sides of the body between the limbs. It 

 seems to be likely that all kinds of flying really originated 

 from some such mechanism, which gradually became 

 restricted to the fore-limbs in the more perfectly flying 

 birds and bats. A loose fold of skin at the sides is 

 sufficient for a beginning ; this becomes intensified, 

 and then the " patagium " in birds is limited to the 



Z.G. 145 L 



