PETAURUS BREVICEPS. 291 



very sparingly furnished with dusky hairs^ excepting 

 at the base externally, where they are covered with 

 fur like that of the head, and of a dusky colour ; at 

 the hinder margin, however, the fur is white, or 

 nearly so ; tail rather exceeding the head and hody 

 in length, cylindrical and but moderately bushy ; fur 

 very soft and moderately long^ its general tint is ashy 

 grey obscurely mottled with whitish ; a dusky longi- 

 tudinal line extends from between the eyes along the 

 back ; on the back, however, it is indistinct, and 

 towards the hinder part is obliterated ; the hairs 

 covering the tail are nearly of an uniform ashy-grey 

 colour, somewhat inclining to dusky, rather more 

 than two inches of the apical portion of the tail is 

 covered with black hairs ; the flank membrane is 

 blackish above, but white at the margin ; the white 

 fringe which margins this membrane, extends along 

 the hinder part of the arm, and terminates at the tip 

 of the little finger ; the upper surface of the hand, or 

 fore-foot, is smoky-black; the hind-foot is of a deep 

 grey colour, inclining to blackish ; a dusky mark is 

 observable on the posterior part of the hind-legs, and 

 the hairs which cover this part are very long ; the 

 external margin of the foot is provided with a fringe 

 of hairs ; both feet and hands are naked beneath, the 

 heel is partially clothed with hairs beneath; the under 

 parts of the body and head are whitish-gfey. 



Length from nose to root of tail, 6 inches 6 lines; 

 tail, 7 inches ; tarsi, (claws included) 1 inch 1 line ; 

 ear, 9 lines. 



This species inhabits New South Wales, and in 



