424 



PETAURUS. 



said to be natives of Persia, containing only two spe- 

 cies, or in fact only one ; for making the nectarine 

 a species is a piece of ridiculous discrimination. See 

 PEACH. 



PETAURUS. A genus of marsupial mammalia, 

 natives of New Holland, and called, by the English 

 settlers there, flying cats, flying foxes, flying squirrels, 

 or any thing else in the mammalia of Europe to 

 which they were fancied to have the greatest resem- 

 blance. By many naturalists, or at all events many 

 authors, they were at first confounded with the 

 opossums, to which, however, they have little or no 

 resemblance. They are wholly confined to New 

 Holland and the adjacent isles ; and they are invari- 

 ably tree animals. None of them can exercise any 

 function entitled in the slightest degree to the name 

 of flying; but they have some cross motion of the 

 legs, and the power of extending between them a 

 loose fold of the skin of the sides, which forms a very 

 efficient parachute. The most remarkable characters 

 of the genus are the following : in the upper jaw 

 there are six incisors, and, generally speaking, no 

 canines, though the presence or the absence of these 

 is not a constant matter ; the cheek teeth in this jaw 

 are sometimes six, and sometimes seven ; in the 

 under jaw there are two incisors, the canines are 

 generally wanting, and the number of cheek teeth is 

 not determined ; the intermaxillary bones of the 

 upper jaw form an angle with each other ; the incisors 

 are large in the front, and have powerful cutting 

 edges, but get gradually smaller us they proceed 

 backwards ; there is a blank space between the in- 

 cisors and the false grinders ; the first false grinder is 

 very small, the second a little larger, and the third 

 larger still, and having its crown formed something 

 like that of a true grinder. This structure of mouth 

 is rather an anomaly, when we come to compare it 

 with the mouths of the ordinary mammalia in which 

 each is tolerably constant to the general lype belong- 

 ing to its order. It is not a decidedly carnivorous 

 mouth certainly, and perhaps the nearest approach 

 to it is found in the mouths of the rodentia ; but still 

 it cannot be considered as identical with these. They 

 live, as we have said, in trees, and repose chiefly during 

 the day, so that if not absolutely nocturnal, the morn- 

 ing and evening appear to be the chief times at which 

 they are active. They leap from branch to branch 

 with great adroitness, and are among the most nu- 

 merous mammalia to be met with as natives of 

 Australia. The aboriginal inhabitants of that island 

 seek after them with great assiduity, and smoke them 

 out of the hollow trees by fire. The head is 

 long, the ears large, the eyes also are large, and 

 the nose pointed, and the naked part of it covered 

 with Jhat peculiar but almost indescribable sort of 

 skin which never fails to point out that any animal 

 upon which it is seen is marsupial. The legs are 

 short but stout, and all the feet have five toes ; the 

 inner toes upon the hind feet are placed considerably 

 farther back than the others, and without any nail ; 

 it is probable that they act as points of support in 

 grasping ; the first and second toes upon the same 

 feet are rather shorter than the others, and partially 

 united by membrane ; all the toes on the fore feet 

 are free, but the inner ones, or those answering to the 

 thumbs of hands, are much shorter than the others. 

 The claws are crooked, compressed laterally, sharp 

 pointed, and very strong ; and there is noidoubt that 

 these animals can seize and retain their hold on a 



tree in a very perfect manner. The parachute, which 

 is a sort of mantle, folds into plaits when the fore and 

 hind feet are brought near to each other ; but when 

 these are advanced in front and projected to the rear, 

 a large volume of membrane is spread out to break 

 the fall of the animal. The tail is, generally speaking, 

 very long, covered with shaggy hair, and capable of 

 a good deal of motion, but not prehensile. Some- 

 times it is round in the section, and sometimes flat. 

 They do not appear to be absolutely confined to New 

 Holland ; for some are understood to be met with 

 on Norfolk Island, though there is no mention of 

 them in any place more remote from the Australian 

 coasts. 



We shall not make use of any general English 

 name for the different species of these animals, but 

 shall speak of them by the epithet only. 



The Dwarf (P. pygnueus). This is a very pretty 

 little creature, about the size of a mouse, but stoutly 

 made ; the upper parts are of a delicate mouse- 

 coloured grey, with a reddish tinge, and some clear 

 brown round the eyes ; the upper lip and the under 

 part of the body, and also of the expansile mem- 

 branes, is pure white ; the tail, which is long, is a very 

 beautiful organ. It consists of a central articulated 

 part, and an exceedingly regular appendage of red- 

 dish grey hairs on each side ranged with the most 

 perfect symmetry, and the whole bearing some re- 

 semblance to a handsome little feather ; the loose 

 membrane is not attached to the fore feet any further 

 than the elbow joints. Its manners are very little 

 known ; and, indeed, it is so little a creature, and so 

 clever among the twigs and leaves of the trees, 

 that it cannot be observed without the utmost dif- 

 ficulty. 



The Great (P. maximns). Even this species would 

 not be very great in most groups of mammalia, but 

 still it is entitled to the epithet as compared with the 

 one last mentioned. The body measures altogether 

 about twenty inches in length, and the tail about 

 eighteen ; the head is small and the mouth very small, 

 the muzzle being pointed ; the eyes are rather large, 

 and, as is the case with the greater number of mar- 

 supial animals, they have no appearance of eyebrows 

 or any enfoncement in the head ; the lines on which 

 they close are very much inclined downwards at 

 their extremities next the nose, and this of itself gives 

 a sinister look to the animals ; the ears are large, par- 

 tially rounded off at their extremities, and they stand 

 nearly at right angles to the mesial line ; the tail is 

 very thick of fur, which lies in all directions, cannot 

 easily be ruffled, and thus has a fine appearance ; the 

 upper part is, generally speaking, greyish-brown of 

 nearly uniform tint; but it is subject to varieties of 

 colour, and some are met with almost white ; the 

 head is rather deeper greyish-brown, with a trace of 

 yellowish-fawn colour down the middle ; the throat, the 

 under part generally, and a line on the inner surface 

 of each of the fore legs, are white ; the feet are 

 blackish-brown ; the tail is fawn colour at the base, 

 increasing gradually to very dark blackish-brown to- 

 wards the extremity. 



Black Petaurus (P. Taguanoides). Though the 

 preceding species is called the great, yet the present 

 is still greater, and this is an instance of the absurdity 

 of giving superlative names to species when little is 

 known of the genus. From this foolish custom, we 

 have some species of plants standing in the list as 

 grandiflora, though the flowers are not half the size 



