THE DASYURE. 



489 



This animal is also known under the names of Ursine Dasyure and Ursine 

 possum. 



OF the animals which have been congregated into the genus Dasyures, four or five 

 species are now admitted to be clearly separated from each other. In color the Dasy- 

 ures are extremely variable, so much so indeed, that it is hardly possible to find two 

 individuals of the same species that are marked in precisely the same manner. 



In the Common DASYURE the general color of the fur is brown, of a very dark 

 hue, sometimes deepening into positive black, diversified with many spots of white, 

 scattered apparently at random over the whole of the body, and varying both in their 

 position and dimensions in almost every individual. In some specimens the tail is 

 washed with white spots similar to those 

 of the body, but in many examples the 

 tail is uniformly dark. In all the Dasy- 

 ures this member is moderately long, 

 but not prehensile, and is thickly covered 

 with hair ; a peculiarity which has caused 

 zoolgists to-give the title of Dasyure, 

 or hairy-tail, to these animals. 



They are all inhabitants of Australasia, 

 the common Dasyure being found nu- 

 merously enough in New Holland, Van 

 Diemen's Land, and some parts of Aus- 

 tralia. The habits of all the Dasyures 

 are so very similar that there is no need 

 of describing them separately. They 

 are all rather voracious animals, feeding 

 upon the smaller quadrupeds, birds, 

 insects, and other living beings which 

 inhabit the same country. The Dasy- 

 ure is said to follow the example of the 

 two preceding animals, and to be fond of 

 roaming along the sea-coasts by night 

 in search of food. 



The Dasyures are all nocturnal an- 

 imals, and very seldom make voluntary 

 excursions from their hiding-places so 

 long as the sun is above the horizon. 

 They do not, like the Tasmanian wolf and the ursine Dasyure, lie hidden in burrows 

 under the earth, or in the depths of rocky ground, but follow the example of the 

 Petaurists, and make their habitations in the hollows of decayed trees. 



The young of the Dasyures are, like those of all the animals of this order, extremely 

 small. Their number is rather variable, but is usually from four to six. In this species 

 the thumb of the hind-feet is entirely absent. 



DASYURE. Dasyurus vlverrlaus. 



The PHASCOGALE, or TAPOA TAFA, as it is termed by the natives of the country which 

 it inhabits, affords an excellent example of the little dependence that is to be placed 

 on mere external appearance in judging the character of any living being. 



In size, the Phascogale is small, hardly exceeding the house-rat of Europe in dimen- 

 sions. The total length of this creature is about seventeen inches, the long, widely- 

 formed tail occupying nine inches if measured to the point of the hairy tuft that 

 decorates its extremity, and seven inches if denuded of its hairy covering. 



The fur of this animal is long, soft, and woolly, and lies very loosely upon the skin, 

 so that it is disturbed by every slight breath of air that may happen to pass over its 

 surface. In color it is soft gray on the upper parts of the body, the head, and the outer 

 faces of the limbs, the under portions of the body being white, and slightly washed with 



