270 



POUCHED MAMMALS. 



Tasmanian Devil. 



The animal rejoicing in the name of the Tasmanian devil 

 (Sarcophilus ursinmi) is the sole living representative of its genus. 

 Like the thylacine, it has, however, an extinct cousin on the Australian mainland. 

 The Tasmanian devil is an ugly and powerfully -built animal, with an exces- 

 sively large head, terminating in a short and broad muzzle ; its size being 

 approximately that of the common badger. The ears are large and rounded on 

 the outer side ; and the tail is of moderate length, and thickly, although evenly 

 haired As in the thylacine, the hind-foot has no trace of the first toe ; but, instead 

 of being digitigrade, both fore and hind-feet are markedly plantigrade. The fur 



THE THYLACINE, OR TASMANIAN WOLF (^ nat. size). 



of the head and body is thick and close, with a large quantity of under-fur, which 

 is nearly equal in length to the straight fur. In colour the fur is mainly black or 

 blackish brown, but there is a white collar or patch on the throat, and a variable 

 number of white spots on the neck, shoulders, and rump. The incisor teeth (as 

 shown in the figure on p. 268) differ from those of the thylacine in that the outer- 

 most pair are not markedly larger than the others ; while the cheek-teeth are six 

 instead of seven in number, on each side, and are closely packed together, in place 

 of being separated from one another by intervals. It is an even more exclusively 

 nocturnal animal than the thylacine, being almost blinded if exposed to the rays of 

 the sun, and passing the day coiled up in some dark and secluded lair, which may 

 be either a natural cave or cleft among the rocks, or a burrow excavated by 



