34 MOLES AND THEIE, LIKE. 



great power. The marsupial mole stands alone, however, 

 in having the front of the muzzle protected by a leathery 

 shield ; while its short and blunt tail is also covered with 

 a peculiar naked leathery skin. In the fore limbs the 

 structure of the feet recalls the golden moles rather than 

 the true moles, the third and fourth toes being greatly 

 enlarged at the expense of the others, and furnished with 

 huge triangular daws of enormous digging power. In its 

 pale, sandy-coloured hair, with a more or less golden 

 tinge, the marsupial mole departs widely from our sable 

 European friend; but it must be remembered that the 

 difference in this respect is really not so great as it at first 

 sight appears, seeing that cream-coloured varieties of the 

 common mole are far from rare. In the Australian form 

 the pale coloration is doubtless adapted to harmonize with 

 the natural surroundings of its native desert, since it has 

 been ascertained that the creature makes its appearance 

 from time to time above ground. That the resemblance 

 of the marsupial to the golden mole in the structure of 

 the fore-paws is a purely adaptive one, there can be no 

 reasonable doubt; but whether the identical structural 

 conformation of the molar teeth of the two animals 

 indicates any real genetic affinity, or is merely inherited 

 from an old ancestral type which may have been common 

 to many groups, is far less easy to answer. 



The marsupial mole, or ur-quamata, as it is termed by 

 the aborigines, inhabits a very limited area lying about a 

 thousand miles to the interior of Adelaide ; and even there 

 appears to be of extreme rarity. According to observations 

 supplied to its describer, Dr. E. C. Stirling, the creature 

 is generally found buried in the sand under tussocks of the 

 so-called porcupine-grass (Triodia), and its food appears to 

 consist of insects and larvae. The animals appear only to 

 move about during warm, moist weather ; and as they are 

 extremely susceptible to cold, it is probable that they lie 

 in a more or less torpid condition during the winter 

 months, when the surface of the ground is often white with 

 frost. When on the move, the marsupial mole is said to 

 enter the sand obliquely, and to travel for a few feet or 

 yards beneath the surface, when it emerges, and after 



