484 



THE TASMANIAN WOLF. 



THE large-eared, woolly-furred little animal which is here represented, is closely 

 allied to the bandicoots, but at once distinguishable from them by peculiarity of struct- 

 ure which has earned for it the generic title of Chaeropus, or swine-footed." 



Upon the fore-feet there are only two toes, which are of equal length, and armed 

 with sharp and powerful hoof-like claws, that bear no small resemblance to the foot of 

 a pig, and are not only porcine in their external aspects, but in the track which they 

 leave upon the ground when the creature walks on soft soil. Slenderly and gracefully 

 swinish, it is true, but still piggish in appearance though not in character. 



The CHJEROPUS was formerly desig- 

 nated by the specific title of ecaudatus, 

 or tailless, because the first specimen 

 that had been captured was devoid of 

 caudal appendage, and therefore its dis- 

 coverers naturally concluded that all its 

 kindred were equally curtailed of their 

 fair proportions. But as new specimens 

 came before the notice of the zoological 

 world, it was found that the Chaeropus 

 was rightly possessed of a moderately 

 long and somewhat rat-like tail, and that 

 the taillessness of the original specimen 

 was only the result of accident to the in- 

 dividual, and not the normal condition 

 of the species. The size of the Chaeropus 

 is about equal to that of a small rabbit, 

 and the soft woolly fur is much of the 

 same color as that of the common wild 

 rabbit. 



It is an inhabitant of New South 

 Wales, and was first discovered by Sir 

 Thomas Mitchell on the banks of the 

 Murray River, equally to the astonish- 

 ment of white men and natives, the latter 

 declaring that they had never before 

 seen such a creature. The speed of the 

 Chaeropus is considerable, and its usual 



haunts are among the massses of dense scrub foliage that cover so vast an extent of 

 ground in its native country. Its nest is similar to that of that bandicoot, being made 

 of dried grass and leaves rather artistically put together, the grass, however, predom- 

 inating over the leaves. The locality of the nest is generally at the foot of a dense 

 bush, or of a heavy tuft of grass, and it is so carefully veiled from view by the mode of 

 its construction that it can scarcely be discovered by the eyes of any but an experienced 

 hunter. 



The head of the Chaeropus is rather peculiar, being considerably lenthened, cylindri- 

 cally tapering towards the nose, so that its form has been rather happily compared to 

 the neck and shoulders of a champagne bottle. The hinder feet are like those of the 

 bandicoots, and there is a small swelling at the base of the toes of the fore-feet, which 

 is probably the representative of the missing joints, more especially as the outermost 

 toes are always extremely small in the bandicoots, to which the Chaeropus is nearly 

 allied. The ears are very large in proportion to the size of the animal. The pouch 

 opens backwards. The food of the Chaeropus is said to be of a mixed character, and 

 to consist of various vegetable substances and of insects. 



THE teeth of the Dasyurines, sharp-edged and pointed, indicated the carnivorous 

 character of those animals to which they belong. At the head of these creatures is 

 placed the TASMANIAN WOLF, or DOG-HEADED THYLACINUS, as it has often been named 

 on account of the curious aspect of its thick head, and powerful, truncated muzzle, 



CH/EROPUS. Chseropus castaaotls. 



