2OO 



THE PREDACEOUS MARSUPIALS. 



THE DASYURE FAMILY 



(DASYURIDA). 



In this family the carnivorous dentition 

 becomes more and more pronounced. For the 

 most part these animals have four incisors in 

 the upper jaw, three in the lower, all close-set, 

 conical, and provided with a cutting edge. 

 The large recurved 

 canines are very 

 prominent, and the 

 four molars have 

 several broad and 

 sharp cusps. Only 

 the number of the 

 premolars sometimes 

 varies ; some forms, 

 for example the Tas- 

 manian wolf, have 

 three premolars with 

 sharp triangular 

 cusps ; others, like 

 the dasyures proper, 

 have only two of 

 these. The dental 

 formula is 



4.1. 2-T. . 4 



^ 2 = 42 to 



3-1-2-3.4 



46 teeth. 



As a representa- 

 tive of the genus Phascogale with forty-six 

 teeth, a figure is supplied of the largest 

 species, the Brush-tailed Phascogale, the Tafa 

 of the natives (Ph. penicillata), fig. 253. It 

 attains about the size of a squirrel, which it 

 likewise resembles in the possession of a Tong 

 bushy tail. The smaller species have been 

 united in a separate sub-genus, on which has 

 been bestowed the name of Antechinus. The 

 members of this sub-genus are characterized 

 by having a shorter tail less thickly covered 

 with hair. Their habits are similar to those 

 of our rats and mice, to which they are about 

 equal in size. 



All these animals are agile climbers and 



Fig. 253. The Brush-tailed Phascogale or Tafa (Phascogale penicillata). 



surprisingly quick in their movements; in 

 ferocity of disposition they can be compared 

 only to our polecats and shrews. The smaller 

 species must indeed content themselves with 

 insects and eggs, but the large species, like 

 the tafa, are dreaded enemies of the poultry- 

 yard; they kill for the sake of killing, and 

 intoxicate themselves with blood. They are 

 therefore pursued with fury by the settlers, 



who have great 

 trouble in protecting 

 their poultry against 

 these adroit noctur- 

 nal robbers. 



The middle in- 

 cisors in the upper 

 jaw of the members 

 of this genus are 

 large and recurved ; 

 the canines are slen- 

 der, and the many- 

 pointed molars have 

 in the upper jaw a 

 triangular form like a 

 V. The short, thick 

 legs have five free 

 toes with curved 

 claws ; only the great 

 toe of the hind-foot 

 has no nail. The 

 pouch is sometimes 

 well-formed, sometimes rudimentary. The 

 tafa is gray on the back, white underneath, 

 and there are black rings round the eyes. 

 The animal defends itself when attacked with 

 wild fury, and inflicts dangerous bites. Like 

 the opossum it is endowed with a remarkable 

 tenacity of life. 



The True Dasyures (Dasyurus) have only 

 two premolars in each half of each jaw, and 

 consequently forty-two teeth in all. The 

 first three many-pointed molars still retain 

 the insectivorous type, especially in the upper 

 jaw, but the last molar is thin, greatly com- 

 pressed, and transversely placed. 



The long bodies, tapering heads, small, 



