KOALA. 



263 



Koala. 



presented by Leadbeater's phalanger to the members of the genus Petaurus, being 

 in fact a pigmy fly ing -phalanger without the parachute. The foot-pads are. 

 however, wanting. The general appearance of the animal is very dormouse-like , 

 the head being ornamented with stripes of white and dark brown, while the fur of 

 the body is uniformly buff. 



This curious and somewhat bear-like creature is an aberrant 

 member of the family, constituting not only a distinct genus 

 but likewise a separate subfamily by itself. To the natives it is known by 

 the name of koala, while by the colonists it is generally termed the native 

 bear; its scientific title being Phascolarctus cinereus. The koala has been 

 compared in size to a large poodle dog, the length of the head and body being 

 about 24 inches. It is a heavily-built animal, differing from all the other members 

 of the family in the absence of any external tail, and also readily recognised by its 

 large, squared, and thickly-fringed ears. The fur is extremely thick, woolly, and 



THE KOALA ( nat. size). 



moderately soft; its general colour on the upper-parts being ashy grey, with a 

 tinge of brown, but becoming yellowish white on the hind-quarters, while the 

 under-parts are whitish. All the feet are provided with long claws, and the two 

 innermost toes of the fore-feet are completely opposable to the remaining three. 

 A peculiarity of the koala is the possession of pouches in the cheeks for storing 

 food ; while the dentition differs from that of the typical phalangers in the absence 

 of the minute rudimentary teeth referred to above. The upper molar teeth have 

 very short and broad crowns, somewhat resembling, in the structure of their 

 tubercles, those of the crescent-toothed phalangers. In its internal organisation 

 the koala approximates to the wombats. 



Habits ^ ne koala i g confined to Eastern Australia, where it ranges from 



Queensland to Victoria. Like the other members of the family it is 



