352 



FAMILY PHALANGISTID^E ; PETAURUS, KOALA. 



body is extended between the anterior and posterior limbs on 

 each side, for some distance beyond the flanks ; and serves as a 

 parachute, by which the animal can partially sustain itself when 

 taking leaps of great length. Its aerial evolutions, when roused 

 to activity by the shades of evening, are said to be peculiarly 

 graceful. It seems to have the power of altering the course of 

 its movements, while suspended in the air, so as to alight on the 

 desired spot. It is destitute of the prehensile tail of the true 

 Phalangers ; and seems to be endowed with these wing-like 

 appendages, by way of compensation. The Phascolarctos or 

 Koala is a third form belonging to this family. It is a stoutly- 

 made animal, with robust limbs and powerful claws, but entirely 

 destitute of tail. The 

 fore-feet have each 

 five toes, of which 

 two are opposed 

 to the other three, 

 a solitary in- 

 stance among Mam- 

 malia ; but in the 

 hind-feet this power 

 does not exist, al- 

 though the thumb 

 is separated from 

 the rest. This ani- 

 mal lives chiefly 

 among trees, and 

 feeds upon fruits ; 



and in passing along the branches, it suspends itself by its claws, 

 beneath their lower side, in the manner of a Sloth. It also visits 

 the ground, however, and there hurrows with facility; and it is 

 said to lie dormant beneath it during the cold season. The young 

 one, when it leaves the pouch, clings to the back of the parent 

 for some time. By the colonists this animal is usually termed 

 the native Bear or Monkey. 



315. The last family, that of the PIIASCOLOMYID.E, at present 

 contains only a single species, the Phascdomys or Wombat, which 



Fio. 174. PHASCOLARCTOS OR KOALA. 



