204 



THE FRUIT-EATING MARSUPIALS. 



together, the fourth and fifth, on the other 

 hand, free. The animals sleep by day and 

 go out at night in search of their food, which 

 is of a rather mixed nature, consisting of 

 plants, insects, eggs, and even small birds. 

 The creatures climb and leap with wonderful 

 de.xterity, and at night are just as agile and 

 active as they are 

 sluggish and 

 sleepy by day. 

 The species 

 shown in the il- 

 lustration is of an 

 ashy-gray on the 

 back, white on the 

 underparts and 

 the edges of the 

 patagium. It is 

 a native of New 

 South Wales, 

 lives socially, and 

 is fond of a sugary 

 diet. The body 

 and tail each mea- 

 sure about lo 

 inches in length. 



[A smaller mem- 

 ber of this group is 

 the Opossum or Fly- 

 ing Mouse {Acro- 

 bates pygmcetis), 



which is about the size of our common mouse. 

 "The little Opossum Mouse," says Gould, "is a 

 general favourite with the colonists ; and well may 

 it be so, for in its disposition it is as amiable as its 

 form is elegant and its fur soft and beautiful ; what 

 the dormouse is to the English boy this little animal 

 is to the juveniles of Australia. I have seen it kept 

 as a pet, and its usual retreat in the day, while it 

 sleeps, was a pill-box ; as night approaches it be- 

 comes active, and then displays much elegance in 

 its motions." — Introduction to the Mammals of 

 Australia!] 



Fig. 257.- 



The True Phalangers (Phalangista) have 

 the same dentition and structure of the feet, 

 but are distinguished by having a tail capable 

 of being rolled up, mostly naked on the under- 



side, and by the absence of the patagium. 

 Like the members of the previous genus they 

 lead a nocturnal life. This genus also has 

 been subdivided into several sub-genera. 



The Vulpine Phalanger (^Phalangista vul- 

 pina), of which an illustration is given (fig. 

 258), is a very common species in the forests 



of Australia and 

 Tasmania. It 

 attains the size of 

 a cat. Its long 

 bushy tail is naked 

 on the under side 

 only at the tip. 

 The soft thick fur 

 is of a general 

 brownish -gray 

 colour, but on the 

 back assumes a 

 reddish tinge, 

 while on the 

 underparts it even 

 inclines to yel- 

 low ; the throat is 

 rusty -red. The 

 natives make 

 mantles out of the 

 skins. 



Other phalan- 

 gers, like the 



The Squirrel Flyine-phalan^er (Beltdeus sciureus). p. 203. . , 



•^ ' 1^ .> cuscus With Its 



strong canines, extend even to the Moluccas. 

 The Koala or Native (Australian) Bear, 

 sometimes called also the Pouched-bear [Phas- 

 colarctos cinereus), fig. 259, is a form that 

 diverges a good deal from this family. Like 

 the other phalangers it is a good climber, but 

 it has no tail. The body is thickset, the head 

 thick and rather blunt. In its gait and in the 

 appearance of its fur it resembles a small 

 thick-coated bear. Its large ears are hidden 

 by large thick tufts of hair; the short thick legs 

 have toes armed with strong claws, and the 

 feet have a peculiar structure which reminds 

 one of that of the feet of the chameleons. 

 On the fore-feet the two inner toes, the 



