164 PERAMELID^E. 



smaller ones behind. The Perameles, on the con- 

 trary, have three middle toes on the fore-feet, all of 

 equal length, and armed with very long powerful 

 claws, hesides a small rudimentary toe very distinctly 

 marked on each side. The form and character of the 

 hind-feet were perfectly similar to those of the Pe- 

 rameles, as were also the teeth, as far as could he 

 judged from the drawing, except that the canines did 

 not appear to surpass the anterior molars in point of 

 size. The ears were long, elliptical, and nearty naked; 

 the head broad between the ears, and very much 

 attenuated towards the muzzle ; the body about the 

 size of a small rabbit, and the fur very much of the 

 same quality and colour as in that animal/' Mr. 

 Ogilby, after expressing his confidence in the fidelity 

 of Major Mitchell's drawings, and the care with 

 which that gentleman assured him he had made the 

 observation in question, expressed his belief that 

 this animal would be found to constitute a new genus 

 of Marsupials, and proposed for it the provisional 

 name of Chceropus, in allusion to the decided charac- 

 ters of the fore-feet. 



The following is the notice of this animal inser- 

 ted by Major Mitchell in his journal, on the occasion 

 of first discovering it. "June 10, 1836. The most 

 remarkable incident of this day's journey was the 

 discovery of an animal of which I had seen only a 

 head in a fossil state in the limestone caves of Wei- 

 lington Valley, where, from its very singular form, I 

 supposed it to belong to some extinct species. The 

 eluef peculiarity then observed was the broad head 



