On a new Marsupial. 337 



less no doubt accounts for their having so long escaped notice. 

 That they are a serious and constant enemy of the earthworm 

 seems to be shown by the comparative frequency with which 

 worms devoid of clitellum and normal sperm occur, and also 

 by observations upon earthworms found travelling- over the 

 surface of paths after rain. These are stated by Latter (2) 

 to be " in tlie majority of cases infected by larvse of parasitic 

 flies and doomed to die." All the specimens that I have 

 examined have contained large numbers of bacteria in the 

 seminal vesicles and no ripe sperm. It may be that some of 

 them were also infected by fly larvas ; but, even if so, my 

 observations show that when conditions are otherwise un- 

 favourable the bacterium is always ready to take advantage. 



Literature referred to. 



(i) Brasil, L.— C. R. Ac. Sci. xl. pt. 9, 1905, p. 597. 



(2) Latter, 0. — ' The Natural History of some Common Animals/ 1904, 



p. 3. 



(3) Smith, G.— Quart. J. Microsc. Sci. liv. 1910, p. 577. 



XXXVIII. — On a new Marsupial. By Prof. F. FoERSTER 

 and the Hon. Walter Rothschild, Ph.D. 



Phalanger larvatus, sp. n. 



Far of pelage velvety, smoky grey, an ill-defined mesial 

 dorsal line or stripe of dark brown expanding into a distinct 

 smoky black band over head and face to the nose. Throat 

 black, a black band from throat across cheeks to ears, a 

 similar one on crown between the ears. Snout smoky black ; 

 face tawny ochraceous. Forearms washed with tawny ochra- 

 ceous on outside. Underside dirty grey, paler in centre; 

 chest and lower throat yellowish white. Tail hairy to tip, 

 black, with a few scattered silky grey hairs at base ; underside 

 of tail naked for the apical 120 mm. Ears hairy outside, 

 tawny ochraceous, naked witliin. Upper dental series, dis- 

 tance between c and /3 = to that between c and pm 1. 



Nearest to acams, Thom. P. larvatus as well as P. avarus, 

 Thom., can always be distinguished from the forms of 

 P. canescens by the tawny outside of the ears ; from P. ava- 

 rus it is at once distinguished by the entirely black tail. 



Dimensions. Head and body 340 mm.; tail 230-250; 

 nose to ear 35 ; ear 8. 



Hab. Rawlinson Mts., German New Guinea. 2 c? (^ . 



