THK SUGAR >V t'iniil 7.. 



formed with great powers of grasp, and their structure i- intended to fit them for procuring 

 their food among tin? branches of the trees, on which they pass the greater portion of their 

 existeno* 



These creatures fall naturally into three subdivisions namely, the Petaurista, or thorn* 

 which :n-e furnished with tf parachute-like expansion of the skin along the flanks, nnn-h 

 resembling a .similar structure in the colugo, or flying lemur, which has been already described ; 

 the I'hahn-i-t-. or those which are devoid of the parachute, and are furnished with n Ion- 

 pi. !i- !!-(!. t.iil ; an-1 ili.- Koalas, or those which aredevoidof botli juiruchute and tail. Accord- 

 ing to many excellent authorities, these three subdivisions are, in fact, three genera, which 

 comprise the whole of the I'hulan- 

 gi Mi nes, and which render any fur- 

 th.T separation into genera entirely 

 unnecessary. jitc* 9^ ^ ' 



Tin: animal which is represented 

 in th" accompanying engraving is 

 kno\\n by several popular names. 



Ill ll 001 !i of H ttflfe i- 111'" 



SCUAK B i It is also called 



tin- N.-IMOI \ l~i \M- KI.MN.; So.ru: 

 RKL, and the SQUIRREL PETACKI -. 



It is only sixt^-n inches in total 

 length, of which measurement the 

 tail occupies one m< >!<!> . 



The fur of the Su^u- Squirrel is 

 very U-aiitiful. U-ing of a nearly 

 nnifonn brownisli-.irniy, of a pecu- 

 liarly <l.-licat.' lin.'. and renurkably 

 soft in its texture. The parachute 

 membrane is gray abo v. . l>ut is edged 

 with a rich hrown hand, and a bold 

 of blackish-brown is drawn 

 tin- curve of the spine, reach- 

 ing from the point of the nose to 

 tin- root of the tail. The head is 

 somewhat darker than the rest of 

 tin- IxMly. The under parts of the 

 body are nearly white. 



Its long and bushy tail is covered with a profusion of very long, full, soft hair, grayi.sli- 

 brown above, and of a Ix-antiful white underneath. The extremely long tail with which these 

 animals are furnished appears to be of exceeding service to them in balancing their bodies as 

 th.-y inak.- th.'ir desperate leap through space, and may also be useful in aiding them to modify 



original direction of their sweep through the air. 



This supposition is strengthened by the fact, that many long-tailed animals employ that 

 for the same purpose wln-n th.-yare perched in any critical jition where an accurate 

 Balance is needful. I have seen a large spid.T-inonk.-y .'inploy h.-r long prehensile tail for the 

 -am.- purpose. She was seated upon a loose horizontal cord, holding as usual by her haruN 

 and tail. But when I gave her an apple, she removed Ix.th II.T hand* from the cord, grasping 

 it tirmly with h.-r hinder f>i't. and th.-n ]-niiitt.-d her tail to hang its full length, so that she 

 <-. >uld Indance herself by swinging it from side to side, according to the necessity of the moment. 



This was the more remarkable, as the animal is noted for the pertinacity with which it 

 grasps any neighboring obj-<-t with if" tail, and never likes to move without securing it s-lf by 

 it- tail to the various obi s aloiiy, or even T<> tin- string by which it is led. 



The Sugar Squirrel, like the other Fetuuriste, is a nocturnal animal, and is seldom 



SUQAK ttqUlKaEL. OB 8QUIKKSL 



