256 POUCHED MAMMALS. 



rufous 011 the sides of the face. Although the central pair of lower incisors are 



relatively large and well-developed, all the other teeth, of which the number is 



very variable, are simply conical, and placed at considerable intervals apart. This 



rudimentary condition of the teeth, together with the peculiar characters of the 



tongue and mouth, clearly indicate that the creature is a very specialised member 



of the family. 



The long-snouted phalanger is an inhabitant of Western Australia, 



where it is known to the natives as the tait. Although in some 



districts stated to be very rare, in otl, ra it appears to be far from uncommon; its 



favourite resorts being low scrubby bushes. It is strictly nocturnal ; and 



constructs its nests in the taller plants and shrubs, among the branches of which 



it climbs in search of its favourite food, honey. This food is procured by thrusting 



the long extensile tongue into the cups of the flowers; and as nearly all the 



Australian flowering plants are honey -yielders, it is obtainable at all seasons. 



With the beautiful animals commonlv known bv the name of 

 The Cuscuses. . . 



cuscus, one of which (Phata/nger maculatus) is rejiresented in the 



accompanying figure, we come to the first generic group of the typical phalangers, 

 which present the general characteristics noticed under the heading of the family. 

 The members of the present genus are relatively large or medium-sized animals, 

 with thick woolly coats and long prehensile tails, of which the terminal portion 

 is completely naked. Their ears are short or of medium length, invariably covered 

 with hair externally, and sometimes also on their inner surface. In the fore-feet 

 the toes are of nearly equal length, and furnished with long, stout, and curved 

 claws : while the soles of both fore and hind-feet are naked and striated, with 

 several large and ill-defined fleshy pads. The crowns of the molar teeth have 

 four cusps: of which the outer pair in those of the upper jaw are somewhat coin- 

 pressed from side to side. 



Altogether there are five different species of cuscus, mostly of about the size 

 of a large cat ; and among these the spotted cuscus herewith figured is by far the 

 handsomest. In the male of this species the ground-colour of the fur of the back 

 is usually a dirty yellowish white, marked with numerous irregular blotchings of 

 reddish brown and black ; the chin and under-parts being white, often tinged with 

 yellow or red, and the head or limbs grey or reddish. There is, however, great 

 individual variation, some specimens being almost uniformly grey or red. The 

 smaller female (as shown on the right side of our figure) is general!}- of a uniform 

 grey and black above, and white beneath, although sometimes red. A much more 

 sober-hued animal is the black cuscus (P. wrsinus), of Celebes, in which the fur is 

 of a uniform black or dark brown colour, with the exception of that on the inside 

 of the ears, which is white. 



With the exception of the spotted species, which ranges to North Australia, 

 the cuscuses are mainly confined to the islands of the Indo-Malayan region, as far 

 westwards as Celebes. Only the spotted cuscus and one other species are even 

 found in New Guinea; and they are the sole Old World Marsupials occurring to 

 the westward of that island. The grey cuscus (P. orientalis), of Amboyna, Timor, 

 and some of the smaller islands, was the first Australasian mammal known in 

 Europe, having been discovered and described as far back as the year 1611. 



