D A S Y U R U S. 



241 



portion to their strength, and it is doubtful it' they 

 ever incline to attack the large kangaroo, or even the 

 emu, unless they can ccuno upon it by stealth ; the 

 colonists have given them the names of those Euro- 

 pean and other animals to which they fancied they 

 had the greatest resemblance, such as cats, wolves, 

 hyaenas, leopards, and other names ; but there does 

 not appear to be a single native animal, or any one of 

 those genera, in the whole of Australia. 



There are at least eight species of the genus, three 

 of which are natives of Van Diemen's Land, and the 

 other h've of New Holland ; but it is probable that 

 as the latter country becomes better known, more 

 species may be discovered. 



Dasyurus cynocephahts. This species is of Van 

 Diemen's Land, and it differs so much from the others 

 in some of its characters, that it has been made a 

 separate genus under the name ofT/iylncimis. It is an 

 animal of considerable size, being about three feet and 

 a half in length, exclusive of the tail, which measures 

 about two feet. It stands one foot one at the shoul- 

 der, and one foot eleven at the rump, the marsupial 

 animals being almost, without exception, higher and 

 more stoutly made in their hinder parts than forwards, 

 which forms a very distinguishing character between 

 them and the generality of animals which are not 

 marsupial. 



The tail of this species is very peculiar, and dif- 

 ferent from that of all the others of the genus, being 

 compressed or flattened sideways. The covering of 

 the animal is smooth and short, of a dull yellowish 

 brown in the ground colour, paler on the under part, 

 and mixed with grey on the back ; and across the 

 loins and rump there are six or seven transverse bands 

 of black, two of which extend down the thighs. This 

 animal squats on its hams in the attitude of a dog, but 

 its expression is dull and stupid, and it has neither the 

 sagacity nor the activity of the predatory animals of 

 Europe. It is generally found near the shores, and 

 lodges in deep caverns and clefts of the rocks, so that 

 it is not often seen in proportion to its numbers. 



Dasyurus ursinus. This is also a native of Van 

 Diemen's Land, and not found, so far as is known, 

 in the larger island. It is smaller than the former 

 species, and different in all its characters and habits, 

 so that the generic distinctions between them appear 

 to be correct; and it is probable that, when they come 

 to be better understood, it may be necessary to sub- 

 divide them into more than two genera, though they 

 will still require to be kept together as a very natural 

 group. 



The present species is about two feet and a half 

 long, and the tail about nine inches, and unlike that 

 of the last species, it is naked on the under side, and 

 slightly prehensile. The whole body and upper part 

 of the tail are covered with shaggy black hair, marked 

 on the back with a few obscure white blotches. It is 

 in consequence of this rough covering that it gets the 

 name of the bear ; and its peculiarly repulsive aspect 

 has procured it from the woodsmen of Van Diemen's 

 Land, who are not over chary in their vocabulary, the 

 name of "the Devil." Its manners, like those of most 

 of the genus, are very little known : it lives in obscu- 

 rity, and though, from the character of its teeth, which 

 are the same as those of the former, it in all proba- 

 bility feeds a good deal upon insects, reptiles, and its 

 fellow-lodgers the bats, yet it is said to range more 

 extensively, to be more fierce and daring, and to com- 

 mit greater depredations upon poultry and lambs than 



NAT. HIST. VOL. II. 



the former one ; still, however, when seen, for that is 

 not often, as it is in the depths of caves during the 

 day, it is near the shore, and very generally close by 

 the margin of the waters. 



It is worthy of a passing remark, as throwing some 

 light upon the natural state of Australia, and this is a 

 subject to which much attention should be paid, be- 

 cause we are in possession of its history, clearly and 

 fully from the very first time that a sod of it was broken 

 by the spade, that both the human inhabitants and 

 the predatory animals of this part of the world were 

 found only on the margin of the waters, chiefly on the 

 sea-shore, but also, at least seasonally, on the banks 

 of the rivers, and that the chief subsistence of both 

 was fish, and at some seasons of the year shelled 

 mollusca. This may, perhaps, account for the very 

 small number of even these species of predatory 

 animals in regions so extensive, and also for the extir- 

 pation of them from the larger island, supposing them 

 once to have been found there, at least it is a remark- 

 able instance of man and the predatory animals being 

 rivals for the very same food in the very same locali- 

 ties ; and we may naturally suppose that rude as were 

 the aborigines of these countries they would exert 

 themselves to extirpate the dasyuri with the same 

 assiduity that the wolf and the fox have been hunted 

 down in Europe, and the former extirpated in many 

 parts of it. The wars of wild men against wild ani- 

 mals, would not only be an exceedingly curious sub- 

 ject in itself, but if it were properly studied it would 

 throw considerable light upon the progressive his- 

 tory, at least, of the predatory part of the animal 

 kingdom. 



Dasyurus minimus. This is also described as a 

 native of Van Diemen's Land, and has been much 

 more readily met with than either of the other two. 

 It is a very small animal, not above four inches in 

 length, and the tail short, with very short hair, the fur 

 on the body is soft to the touch, and reddish at the 

 points. Its head is conical, and its muzzle very small. 

 Altogether it has fully as much resemblance to the 

 opossum as to the other members of this group. Very 

 little, however, is known of its history. 



Dasyurus macrourns. This species is found in New 

 Holland, and was for some time described as belong- 

 ing to the weasel family, and named as such by Shaw 

 who was long employed in the naming of beasts, 

 though sometimes not very happily ; but then the 

 fault was not his, as he had only the skin to name them 

 from, and of course had no means of judging of their 

 structure, or assigning them a place in the system, in 

 accordance with their nature. This species is styled 

 the spotted marten, and sometimes the wild cat by the 

 colonists, which has led those who make up works 

 from popular sayings, without having the means of 

 ascertaining their truth, to include the cat among the 

 native animals of Australia, though there is no reason 

 to believe that there is a single individual of the feline 

 group indigenous to the country. 



This species is about a foot and a half long, with a 

 tail nearly the same length. Its fur is very thick, and 

 soft to the touch, the colour otter brown, relieved with 

 spots of pure white, which are very small on the back, 

 but yet larger on the sides, and the belly is entirely 

 white. The head is maroon red, and the feet yel- 

 lowish. The two incisive teeth in the middle are more 

 produced than the others, which gives the mouth of 

 the animal a ragged appearance. This is a nocturnal 

 animal, 



Q 



