1412 THE POUCHED MAMMALS, OR MARSUPIALS 



ridges, which are nearly always connected by a longitudinal bridge. The true kan- 

 garoos and wallabies comprise twenty-three living species, as well as several which 

 are extinct, and they are found not only in Australia and New Guinea, but also in 

 some of the islands to the eastward. While the larger species are as tall as a man, 

 the smallest do not exceed the dimensions of a rabbit. They may be divided into 

 three groups, distinguished by size, and partly also by coloration. 



Under the common title of true kangaroos may be included all the 

 larger forms, characterized by their generally uniform and sombre 

 coloration, and their large and massive skulls, in which the hinder 

 portion of the skull is well ossified. The best known of all the species is the great 

 gray kangaroo ( M. giganteus] the "boomer," "old man," or "forester" of the 

 colonists, to which allusion has been already made, and which is represented in the 

 figure on p. 1411. A full-grown male will measure sixty-three inches from the tip 

 of the nose to the root of the tail, the length of the tail being fifty-two inches; while 

 the entire animal will weigh some two hundred pounds. This species is of rather 

 slender and graceful build, with soft woolly hair, which is grayish brown above, 

 and nearly white beneath on the under parts and limbs, without any white markings 

 on the face. It is further characterized by the middle of the muzzle being hairy 

 between the nostrils, and also by the shortness from back to front of the permanent 

 premolar tooth. It is an inhabitant of open plains, and is found over the greater 

 part of Australia and Tasmania. 



On the other hand, the red kangaroo (M. rufus), represented in our colored 

 plate, and the antelopine kangaroo (M. antilopinus) , together with certain allied 

 species, are inhabitants of rocky districts, and have their muzzles completely naked, 

 and the permanent premolar tooth of greater length from back to front. Their 

 colors also may be more brilliant. The great red kangaroo is of slender build, with 

 reddish-colored and very soft woolly fur, which corresponds to the under-fur of 

 other species; the face having light markings and a black streak. This species in- 

 habits South and Eastern Australia. The antelopine kangaroo, from North Aus- 

 tralia, is distinguished by its massive build, and heavy, clumsy head, as well as by 

 its short, coarse, straight, reddish hair, without any under-fur, and the absence of 

 face markings. It is stated to attain a weight of from one hundred and twenty to 

 upward of one hundred and seventy pounds. Another well-known species is the 

 wallaroo (M. robustus), frftm Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia, 

 in which the fur is long and thick, and of a smoky-gray color; the build being also 

 stout and heavy. 



Under the designation of large wallabies, or brush kangaroos, may 

 Lctrtrc 



* .. .. be included a group of smaller and brighter-colored species, distin- 

 guished by the more incomplete ossification of the hinder part of the 

 bony palate, and by the third incisor tooth of the upper jaw having a single distinct 

 notch near the middle of the crown. All these species frequent dense scrub jungle, 

 known in Australia as "brush," and their leaping powers are nearly as great as 

 those of the true kangaroos. One of the largest species is the red-necked wallaby 

 {M. ruficollis), in which the length of the head and body may be as much as forty- 

 one inches, and that of the tail thirty-one inches. It occurs in New South Wales 



