INTRODUCTION. 49 



abound most in New Guinea^ where it appears * that 

 no less than seven species t (affording examples of 

 the genera Phascogale, Ferameles, Hypsiprpnuus 

 Dendrolagus, Phalangista and Petmirus,) have al- 

 ready been founds, although as yet we do not know 

 even the precise boundary of the island. In the islands 

 Celebes, Amboina, Banda, and Timor, there are also 

 Marsupial animals ; they all, however, belong to one 

 genus — Phalangista, and, what is interesting, they 

 appertain to a section of this genus, examples of which 

 have not yet been found on the continent of Australia. 

 As yet but one species has occurred in Celebes, the 

 Phalangista ursina, and that appears to be confined 

 to the island : in Amboina three species have been 

 found Phal. chrysorrhos, P. maculata, and P. cavi- 

 frons ; the two last have also been found in Banda, 

 a small island adjoining Amboina, and one of them, 

 the P. cavifrons, is stated to be an inhabitant like- 

 wise of the island Timor. The large islands, Java, 

 Sumatra and Borneo, afford no examples of the Mar- 

 supiata, at least we possess no well authenticated in- 

 stance of the occurrence, in a state of freedom, of any 

 species in those islands. 



Little as we yet know of Australia, upwards of 70 

 species of Marsupiata have been already discovered 

 in that country ; and when to these we add about 



* " Over De Zoogdieren van den Indischen Archipel," bv 

 Salomon Muller. 



-j- Most of the species of New Guinea are unknown to me, 



excepting by the names mentioned hi the table displaying the 



Geographical distribution of theAnimals inhabiting the islands 



of the Indian Archipelago, given in the Work above quoted. 



D 



