THE SQUIRREL FLYING PHALANGER. 207 



THE FLYING PHALANGERS. 



The next genus of the family Phalangistidae contains the Flying Phalangers, which form the genus 

 Petaurus. They have all the peculiarities of the Phalangers, and also a skin on the flank of the body, 

 which is extended between the fore and hind legs, which serves to sustain the animal in the air, 

 when descending from a height. They have a long hairy tail. The Yellow-bellied Flying Phalanger 

 (Petaurus australis, Shaw) may be taken as the type of the genus, and is fourteen indies long 

 in the body, and nineteen in the tail. The peculiar fold of fur, which is its flying machine, 

 is attached to the fore leg as far as the elbow, and all down the legs to the great toe. It 

 is common in all the brushes of New South Wales, particularly those along the coast from Port 

 Phillip to Moreton Bay. Mr. Gould states, in addition to this, " In these vast forests, trees of one 

 kind or other are perpetually flowering, and thus offer a never-failing supply of blossoms, upon which 

 the animal feeds. The flowers of the gum-trees, some of which are of great magnitude, are the 

 principal favourites, and, like the rest of the genus, it is nocturnal in its habits, dwelling in holes 

 of trees and in the hollows of branches during the day, and displaying the greatest activity at night, 

 while running over the small leafy branches, sometimes even to their very extremities, in seai'ch of 

 insects and the honey of the newly-opened blossoms. Its structure being ill-adapted for terrestrial 

 habits, it seldom descends to the ground, except for the purpose of passing to a tree too distant to be 

 attained by springing from the one it wishes to leave. The tops of the trees are traversed at a pace 

 and with as much ease as if it were on the ground. If chased, it ascends to the highest branches, and 

 performs enormous leaps, sweeping from tree to tree with wonderful address." 



A slight elevation gives its body an impetus, which, with the expansion of its membrane, enables 

 it to pass to a considerable distance, always ascending a little at the extremity of the leap. By this 

 ascent the animal is prevented from receiving the shock which it would otherwise sustain. 



THE SQUIRREL FLYING PHALANGER.* 



This little creature, called the Sugar Squirrel by the colonists, is very generally dispersed over 

 the whole of New South Wales, where, in common with other Phalangers, it inhabits the magnificent 

 gum-trees. Mi*. Gould states that it is noctui'nal in its habits, and that it conceals itself during the 

 day in the hollows of trees, where it early falls a prey to the natives, who capture it both for the sake 

 of its flesh and skin, which latter, in some parts of the colony, they dispose of to the colonists, who 

 occasionally apply it to the same purposes as those to which the fur of the Chinchilla and other 

 animals is applied in Europe. At night it becomes extremely active in its motions. It prefers those 

 forests which adorn the more open and grassy portions of the country rather than the thick brush 

 near the coast. By expanding the membrane attached to the sides of its body it has the power of 

 performing enormous leaps. They have the power of changing their course to a certain extent when 

 descending, parachute-like, from a height. It is stated that a ship sailing off the coast had a Squirrel 

 Petaurus on board which was permitted to roam at large. On one occasion it reached the mast-head, 

 and as the sailor who was sent to bring it down approached, it made a spring from aloft to avoid 

 him. At this moment the ship gave a lurch, which, if the original .direction of the little creature's 

 course had been continued, must have plunged it in the sea. All who witnessed the scene were iu 

 pain for its safety ; but it suddenly appeared to check itself, and so to modify its career that it 

 alighted safely on deck. This kind is not more than eight or nine inches in length, and its bushy 

 tail is as long as the body. The soft fur of the tail, like that of the body, is a delicate ashy- 

 grey. There is a long stripe of black fur from the naked tip of the nose to the root of the tail, 

 and the cheeks are white with a black patch ; the flank membrane is edged with white, and this is the 

 colour of the underneath part of the body ; the ears are long, and of a brownish flesh colour. 



Another kind, with a yellow flank membrane, is short-headed, and it inhabits Port Essington, 

 North Australia,! whilst the true Short-headed Flying Phalanger is found in New South Wales.:}: Pro- 

 bably it is the first of these which is found in New Guinea, and which has been called the Squirrel 

 Flying Phalanger by mistake. These Flying Phalangers all have long and nearly naked ears, 



* Petaurus sciureus (Shaw). f Petaurus ariel. J Petaurus breviceps. 



