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NATURAL HISTORY. 



VULPINE PHALANGER. 



THE DORMOUSE PHALANGER.* 



This is a very small Marsupial animal, about six inches in length, including the tail, which 

 measures nearly, if not quite, one-half. It is like a little Dormouse, with its soft fur, ashy-grey in 

 colour, large ears, and thick tail. They are broader, not so long in the leg, and usually larger than 

 the Dormouse, and the eyes are larger, and the upper jaw overhangs the lower. But they look just as 

 fat and sleepy in the daytime. The habits of these animals, moreover, are much the same, for the 

 Phalangista living in Van Diemen's Land feeds on nuts and other similar food, which they hold in their 

 fore paws, using them as hands. They are nocturnal, remaining asleep during the whole day, or, if dis- 

 turbed, are not easily roused into a state of activity. They come forth in the evening, and are then more 

 easy and rapid in their movements. Some of these were kept in the Zoological Gardens of London, and 

 it was noticed that they made great use of their tail, which is prehensile, and thus not like that of the 

 Dormouse. They ran about a small tree, using their paws and tail to hang on by, and using the tail 

 as a suspender when they descended. Sometimes the tail is thrown in a reverse direction, and is 

 turned over the back, and at other times, when the weather is cold, it is rolled closely up towards the 

 under part, and coiled up almost between the thighs. They are like little balls of fur, and are very 

 gentle and harmless. 



Mr. Gould states that another kind of these Dormouse-looking creatures is veiy abundant in the 

 northern portion of Van Diemen's Land, and that of all trees it appears to prefer the Baiiksia, whose 

 numerous blossoms supply it with a never-ceasing store of food, both of insects and sweets. It under- 

 goes a kind of hibernation somewhat similar to but not to the extent of that of the Dormouse. 



These pretty little marsupials are remarkable by having only three true molar teeth in each 

 jaw on both sides; but they have the usual two narrow, long, and pointed incisors in the lower jaw. 

 The auditory bullse on the base of the skull are large, and the hard palate has four openings in it. 

 The lower jaw is slender behind, and the angular process is inflected, the process of bone being, 

 however, slender and pointed. Their mouse-like shape is evident, but they have a large eye, and 

 the ears are often more or less crumpled and pendent, but they start up and are erect at the least 

 noise. There are three species of these Phalangistidse, and they are included in a sub-genus, 

 Dromicia. They live in Van Diemen's Land, Western Australia, and South Australia. Some which 

 were found in King George's Sound district live in retreats under the dead bark of trees, and 

 in holes in trees which have been burnt out. 



* Phalangista Nana. 



