THE PETAURIST, OR TAGUAN. 



teeth, can inflict terrible laceration upon its foe. It is of a sufficiently pugnacious dis- 

 position, and when it is enraged is a desperate fighter with teeth and claws. 



The flesh of the Taguan is said to be very good, and as the animal is a tolerably 

 large one, it is a favorite article of diet among the white and black inhabitants of the 

 country. It is, however, so extremely difficult of capture, that, without the assistance of 

 native aid, the white men would seldom be able to make a dinner on this creature. But 

 as travellers or hunters are generally accompanied by one or more " black fellows," they 

 are well supplied with Taguans by the quick eye and ready hand of their sable allies. 



PETAURIST, OR TAQUAN. Petaurlsta Taquanoides. 



In color the Taguan is extremely variable, but the general arrangement of its coloi 

 is as follows : 



The back is of a rather deep blackish-brown, darker or lighter in different individuals, 

 the feet and muzzle are nearly black, and the under surface of the body and membrane 

 is white. The upper surface of the parachute membrane is rather grizzled, on account of 

 the variegated tints of black and gray with which the hairs are annulated. Many varieties, 

 however, of color exist in the animal, and there are hardly any two specimens in which 



