POUCHED MAMMALS. 201 



geographical range includes New Guinea, as well as Australia and Tasmania. 

 While some are as large as the true phalangers, others are considerably 

 smaller ; but all possess short and rather woolly fur, and stout and medium 

 sized ears, which are well haired on the hind aspect. The relative lengths of the 

 toes of the fore-foot hold the same order as in the cuscuses ; but the first and 

 second toes resemble those of the koala in being markedly opposable to the 

 other three. In both feet the claws are of moderate length, and the bare 

 soles are provided with large striated pads. The long and tapering tail has 

 the lower surface of the extremity devoid of hair for a variable distance, 

 and is highly prehensile. Four teats are present in the female. The upper 

 molars are large and oblong, with the tubercles modified into sharp cusps, 

 from which proceed crescentic ridges ; the corresponding lower teeth having 

 a nearly similar structure. In habits the common ring-tailed-phalanger 

 differs from the true phalangers in that it prefers the so-called tea-scrub to 

 the gum-trees ; and also in that it generally associates in small colonies. 

 These animals construct small nests, not unlike the drey of a squirrel ; and 

 whereas usually but a single young one is produced at a birth, occasionally as 

 many as three may be found in the pouch. Nearly allied in the structure of 

 its skull and teeth to the preceding genus is the taguan flying-phalanger 

 (Petauroides volans\ which is the first of three genera provided with a para- 

 chute for the purpose of taking flying leaps from tree to tree. This species 

 is of comparatively large size, measuring about 17 in. to the root of the tail, 

 while the latter is about 20 in. in length. The fur of the body is remarkable 

 for its long, soft, and silky character ; the unusually large ears are oval in 

 form, and bare internally, but hairy on the outside ; and the skin of the 

 flanks is expanded to form a parachute. The long claws are much curved 

 and sharply pointed ; and the tail is long, cylindrical, and evenly covered 

 with bushy hair, its extreme tip being prehensile and destitute of hair on 

 the lower surface. The habits of this and the other flying-phalangers are 

 very similar to those of the flying-squirrels ; and in Australia these animals 

 are commonly known by the latter name. The present species is confined to 

 Eastern Australia. 



Two species of rather small phalangers, ranging from Northern Australia to 

 New Guinea and the Aru Islands, constitute a genus (Dactylopsila) distinguished 

 by the great elongation of the fourth digit of the front paws, and the conspicuous 

 black and white longitudinal striping of the fur of the body. In these striped- 

 phalangers, which are devoid of a parachute, the oval ears have nearly naked 

 tips. In the front paws the length of the digits follows the order 4, 3, 5, 2, 1, 

 the inequality in their lengths, as in the hind-feet where the fourth and fifth 

 a-re much elongated being very marked. A prominent soft pad is situated 

 on the wrist ; and the claws are long. The long and cylindrical tail is evenly 

 bushy throughout, except the under surface of the tip, which is bare. The 

 oblong molars bear four simple tubercles. Some degree of doubt exists as 

 to the reason for the elongation of the fourth digit of the fore-paws. The 

 suggestion has, indeed, been made that the elongation is for the purpose of 

 extracting insects and grubs from beneath the bark and from crevices in 

 trees, and consequently that these phalangers are largely, if not exclusively 

 insectivorous ; but other writers consider that they subsist on leaves. From 

 the striped-phalangers the little Leadbeater's-phalanger (Gymnobelideus lead- 

 beateri) of Victoria, which measures only 5 in. to the root of the long tail, 

 differs by the normal proportions of the toes ; the length of those of the 

 fore-feet following the order 4, 3, 5, 2, 1. The claws are rather short ; the 



