ORDER MARSUPIALIA: MARSUPIALS 47 



"Recent field work ... in the far north-west of this State [South 

 Australia] (in a typical eremian environment) has shown . . . 

 that Myrmecobius still has a wide distribution in the south-west 

 parts of the centre beyond the limits of pastoral settlement, and in 

 some localities is by no means uncommon. It is possible that these 

 colonies actually link up with the far south-western ones in Western 

 Australia in a continuous band of distribution." 



Finlayson here proposes (1933c, p. 203) to separate the central 

 animal from that of Western Australia under the name of Myrme- 

 cobius fasciatus var. rufus and gives (p. 204) as type locality 

 "mulga sand dunes, south and south-west of the Everard Range, far 

 north-west of State of South Australia." This name, however, is 

 antedated by Myrmecobius rufus Jones (1923), which was intro- 

 duced without any formal designation of type locality, but which 

 was based upon "South Australian specimens, from the Murray 

 and from near Adelaide" (Finlayson, 1933c, p. 205). The range, 

 according to Finlayson (p. 204), is "at present apparently not 

 north of about 25 S. lat., nor east of 132 30' E. long. To the south 

 and west as yet undetermined. Formerly as far south as Adelaide, 

 and probably ranging east into the Victorian and New South Wales 

 mallee areas." 



Family PERAMELIDAE : Bandicoots 



The range of the bandicoots extends over Australia, Tasmania, 

 New Guinea, and certain adjacent islands. There are about 9 

 genera, represented by about 44 forms. Of the latter, accounts of 

 12 appear in the following pages. 



Eastern Barred Bandicoot ; New South Wales Barred Bandicoot 



PERAMELES FASCIATA J. E. Gray 



Perameles fasciata J. E. Gray, in Grey, Two Expeditions Australia, vol. 2, 

 appendix, pp. 401, 407, 1841. ("Liverpool Plains and South Australia"; 

 type locality restricted by Thomas (1922, p. 144) to "Liverpool Plains," 

 New South Wales.) 



Fia: Gould, 1849, vol. 1, pi. 8. 



This bandicoot occurred formerly in New South Wales and 

 Victoria. It has not been recorded for many years, however, and 

 is probably extinct (A. S. Le Souef, in litt., February 15, 1937). 



This species has been more or less confused in descriptions with 

 P. myosura notina. "Grey brown, rump with three black bands; 

 tail white, with a black streak along the upper side. . . . Smaller 

 than P. Gunnii." (J. E. Gray, in Grey, 1841, p. 407.) Upper parts 

 penciled with black and yellow; sides yellow; under parts and feet 



