150 PERAMELID.E. 



covered during one of his surveying expeditions in 

 Australia, and which was called the " Red shrew- 

 mouse" by the men composing his party. Not having 

 taken notes, the author applies the above name to 

 the animal with hesitation. 



FAMILY PERAMELID^E. 

 PERAMELES. 



The dentition of the species of Perameles is as 

 follows : 



Incisors, f:f ; canines, J; false molars, |;|; true 

 molars, |:|=48. The incisors are of a compressed and 

 truncated form, and arranged laterally ; the posterior 

 incisor in the upper jaw is usually separated from the 

 rest, in Perameles nasuta, the intervening space is 

 equal to at least three times the width of one of these 

 teeth, but in P. lagotis, it is scarcely equal to the 

 width of one of the incisors. The canines are of 

 moderate size, sometimes small, of a compressed 

 form and recurved at the apex. The false molars 

 are compressed and pointed, and have a small notch 

 in front and behind. The true molars are nearly of 

 a quadrate form, as viewed from above, but have the 

 exterior portion slightly broader than the inner one ; 

 they present five or six small but rather sharp tuber- 

 cles ; the posterior molar of the upper jaw, which is 

 smaller than the rest, is nearly of a triangular form in 

 P. nasuta > and almost round in P. lagotis. In the lower 



