MARSUPIALIA 189 



At the present time marsupials are more diverse in character and 

 more numerous in Australasia than anywhere else. Probably the kan- 

 garoo is better known to the people of the world than any other Aus- 

 tralian mammal, and known to more people than is any other marsupial 

 except possibly the American opossum. It is so characteristic of that 

 region that a picture of it appears on a series of Australian postage 

 stamps. The flesh of kangaroos is eaten with relish and the skins find 

 their way to the world's markets in large numbers. 



The following items concerning Australasian marsupials have been 

 abstracted from Jennison: 7 Wombats (Phascolomyidae), entirely 

 herbivorous, feeding upon grass, roots and vegetables. Bandicoot 

 (Paramelidae), "food fallen fruit, berries, corn, worms and insects"; 

 "the commonest carnivorous animals of Papua, Australia and Tas- 

 mania" ; "nocturnal burrowing animals that do much damage and are 

 persecuted accordingly." Thylacine (Dasyuridae), "the largest car- 

 nivorous marsupial," "so destructive to sheep that a price is set on its 

 head and its numbers are fast decreasing." Tasmanian devil (Dasyuri- 

 dae), "very strong, murderous beasts that kill everything in their 

 power, even sheep which are many times their size," "but tamable and 

 amusing." Common dasyure, "catch and kill cockatoos and are as 

 efficient as cats in catching rats and mice"; "at times do damage to 

 poultry, though the birds are in general too large game." 



Koala, or tree bear (Phalangeridae), feeds on leaves and vege- 

 tables; "is now very rare; disease carried off thousands in 1887-1889 

 and again in 1900-1903." It is not a member even of the same order as 

 the true bears, but is an arboreal, nocturnal marsupial a very unique 

 and interesting animal whose extinction is imminent unless every 

 reasonable effort is made to preserve it. Its extermination would be 

 deplorable. The figures given on a preceding page for the sales of 

 koala skins may be misleading, as in the fur trade the name "koala" 

 is often applied to sheared and dyed skins of the wallaby, which is a 

 different animal. 8 However, since the taking of koalas was made il- 

 legal throughout Australia, we are informed that over 600,000 pounds 

 of koala skins have been shipped from Queensland under the name 

 "wombat." 9 



Caenolestes, South American marsupials, "examination of three 



'Jennison, Natural history animals, pp. 329-334, 1927. 



"Ashbrook, Trade names in the fur industry, Journ. Mammalogy, iv, 216-220, 

 1923. 



9 Sydney Evening News, July 6, 1929, quoted in Journ. Mammalogy, x, 374, 1929. 



