ORDER MARSUPIALIA: MARSUPIALS 43 



which, 50 or 60 years ago, roamed the countryside, feeding on small 

 marsupials and sheep. . . . Nowadays, certainly, it is rarely seen. 

 . . . When the game season is opened every few years the animal is 

 often caught in snares. But it is in no part specially common, and 

 there are extensive areas in this region where it does not occur at 

 all, or but sparsely, its distribution depending almost wholly on the 

 presence of smaller 'game.' " (P. 20.) 



"The Thylacine has been known to attack dogs when cornered, 

 but so far as I can determine there is no record of its ever having 

 attacked man" (p. 32) . 



In a great amphitheatre about 25 to 40 miles in diameter, bounded 

 by the King William, Prince of Wales, Norway, and other ranges, 

 "we came upon many tracks made by Thylacine, indicating that the 

 animal was fairly common and well distributed" (p. 34) . 



"The area enclosed by the mountains would make a splendid game 

 sanctuary .... The Thylacine is probably as common here as in 

 any other part of the West Coast." (P. 34.) 



Additional tracks were found in the Jane River region, where 

 "the animal had apparently been trailing Wallaby" (p. 34). 



"No longer a menace to sheep-owners since its isolation in the 

 remote parts of the State, the animal possesses a unique scientific 

 value which is appreciated by the Board. While, up to half a 

 century ago, it was fairly plentiful in the grazing country of the 

 central plateau, and was known also to inhabit parts of the eastern 

 tiers and other mountain forest areas adjacent to settlement, it has 

 now practically disappeared from these districts, to make its last 

 stand in the western section of the State." (P. 36.) The recent 

 opening of a road through this remote region has had an adverse 

 effect upon the Thylacine's prospects for survival. 



A mountainous area situated about Frenchman's Gap, east of 

 Macquarie Harbor, and comprising approximately 300,000 acres, 

 is suggested as a suitable sanctuary for the Thylacine and other 

 animals (p. 38) . 



Family MYRMECOBIIDAE : Marsupial Anteaters 



The single genus of this family consists of two forms, both of 

 which are treated here. They occur in the southern half of Australia. 



Banded Anteater; West Australian Numbat 



MYRMECOBIUS PASCIATUS FASCIATUS Water-house 



Myrmecobius fasciatus Waterhouse, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1836, p. 69, 

 1836. ("In the interior of the Swan River Settlement, about 90 miles to 

 the S.E. of the mouth of that river," Western Australia.) 



