152 MARSUPIALIA 



represented by that species in New Guinea, and by P. archeri in 

 Queensland. With the exception of P. peregrinus, the species have 

 a more or less restricted range. Remains of Pseudochirus, probably 

 referable to existing species, are found in the cave-deposits of New 

 South Wales. 



Petauroides. 1 With the genus Petauroides, containing only the 

 single species P. volans, we come to the first of the Flying-Phalangers, 

 characterised by the possession of a flying membrane along the flanks. 

 The characters of this genus are as follows. Size large. Fur very 

 long and silky. Ears large and oval, thickly furred on the back, 

 but naked internally. Flying-membrane reaching from wrist to 

 ankle, but very narrow along the sides of the fore-arm and lower 

 leg. Fore toes subequal, their relative lengths in the order 4, 3, 5, 

 2, 1. Claws long, curved, and sharp. Tail long, cylindrical, and 

 bushy, except near its tip, where it is naked and prehensile. Skull 

 short and broad, with the nasals short, arid not extending nearly as 

 far forwards as the premaxillse. Large vacuities in hinder part of 

 palate. Auditory bullae inflated and smooth. Dentition usually 

 * f > c iy> P f> m f General characters of teeth very similar to those 

 of Pseudochirus, but the first upper incisor scarcely longer than the 

 second. 



The single species is found in Australia, from Queensland to 

 Victoria, and is commonly known as the Taguan Flying-Phalanger. 

 The structure of the skull and teeth indicates close affinity with 

 Pseudochirus, although the external form is widely different in the 

 two genera. This Phalanger seems, indeed, to be, so to speak, a 

 very specialised Pseudochirus, in which the teeth have become 

 somewhat further diminished and the flying membrane has been 

 developed. 



Dactylopsila* The genus Dadylopsila is one of the forms with- 

 out any trace of a flying membrane, its characters being as follows. 

 Size medium. Body striped black and white. Ears oval, nearly 

 naked at the ends. Fore toes of very unequal length, the fourth 

 being enormously elongated; fourth and fifth toes of pes also 

 markedly elongated. Claws long, moderately curved. Tail long, 

 cylindrical, and evenly bushy, with the extremity more or less 

 naked below. Skull narrow, but with the zygomatic arches greatly 

 expanded ; palate fully ossified. Dentition : i f , c ^, p f , m . 

 Upper incisors very large, the third being directed horizontally 

 forwards ; canine small and approximated to the third incisor, which 

 it resembles. The fourth premolar of moderate size, with its longer 

 axis placed obliquely. First lower incisor longer than in any other 

 genus. Molars oblong, with four cusps. 



The typical D. trivirgata, or Striped Phalanger, inhabits the 



1 Thomas, Cat. Marsupials Brit. Mus. p. 163 (1888). 

 2 Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 109. 



