214 



Peramelid^- 



-JIAMMALrA.- 



-Dasyurid.^!. 



into two groups, the poUex and index fingers antagoniz- 

 icg the outer three, so as to afford a strong prehensile 

 action. The Koala is a native of various parts of 

 Australia. It is about the size of a small dog, measur- 

 ing nearly two feet in length. The fur is coarse, 

 thick, and long, possessing a pecuUar ashy-brown 

 colour. It is eminently arboreal in its habits, feeding 

 only upon leaves and buds, but partly residing in small 

 burrows excavated beneath the roots of trees. The 

 female is wont to carry her offspring on her back for a 

 considerable period Its movements, however, are 

 comparatively sluggish imder ordinary cLrcumstances. 



Family IV.— PERAMELID^. 



Looking at the dental pecuharities displayed by the 

 members of this family — commonly called Bandicoot 

 Rats— it will be at once evident that we have passed 

 on to a group of marsupials far less phytivorous in 

 their habits than any of the preceding. In short, we 

 have taken up a carnivorous type, and find, accordingly, 

 well-developed canmes, numerous incisors — ten above 

 and six below — and, in addition, there is a fiiU comple- 

 ment of molars — twelve false and sixteen true ; but 

 the characters of the latter conform more closely to 

 the insectivorous than to the carnivorous mammals, 

 properly so called. Co-ordinating with the multiple 

 arrangement of the teeth, we find a marked extension 

 of the jaws, combined with a corresponding attenua- 

 tion of the muzzle. The hind feet are much longer 

 and stouter tlian tlie anterior pair, whereby their 

 leaping powers are increased, the second and tliird 

 toes of the posterior hmbs bemg also conjoined as far 

 as the base of the claws, whilst the digit equivalent to 

 the thumb is perfectly developed in the fore-feet. The 

 outer toes are very short and placed far back— ^almost 

 concealed. The other toes are all furnished with 

 powerful claws, enabling tlieir possessors to dig and 

 burrow with facility. Bandicoots are fomid only in 

 Australia and Van Diemen's Land. 



THE LONG-NOSED BANDICOOT {Perameles nasutus). 

 — Four or five species are referable to the present genus; 

 for in addition to the one here named, naturalists have 

 recognized P. Lagotis, P. Gunnii, and P. obesiila as 

 specifically distinct. The first of these three had been 

 generically separated by Professor Owen, under the 

 title of Thalaconus. It is also commonly known as 

 the Philander, and is furnished with long ears and an 

 extensive bushy tail ; the muzzle bemg very much pro- 

 duced and abruptly attenuated. The outer incisor of 

 the upper is not separated widely from its fellows. P. 

 Gunnii of Dr. J. E. Gray is an inhabitant of Van 

 Diemen's Land, and is distinguished by its possession 

 of a very short, white tail ; the haunches being also 

 marked by several pale-coloured bands. In addition 

 to insects, it appears to be very fond of bulbous roots. 

 P. ohesula is commonly termed the Spring Bandicoot — 

 Plate 30, fig. 95. In the Long-Nosed Bandicoot the 

 ears are moderate and pointed, the fur having a 

 brownish-grey tint above, passing into white beneath ; 

 the nose is prolonged beyond the jaw. In all, the 

 coeoum is of moderate size. According to Professor 

 Owen, the marsupial pouch, " at least in the full-grown 



females of P. nasiita, P. ohesula, and P. Lagotis, has 

 its orifice directed downwards or towards tlie cloaca, 

 contrariwise to its ordinary position in the marsupials ; 

 this direction of the pouch evidently relates to the pro- 

 cumbent position of the trunk when supported on tlie 

 short fore and long hind legs." During progression, 

 the BanfUcoots move the hind-feet together alternately 

 with the fore-feet, after the saltatory manner of rabbits. 

 Their flesh is said to be good eating. 



OGIIBY'S BANDICOOT [Chmropns castanotis), or the 

 Pig-footed Bandicoot, is a remarkable species, ap- 

 parently possessing only two toes on the fore-feet ; the 

 pollex of the hinder feet is also absent, the outer pair 

 of digits being very conspicuously developed. The 

 claws of the latter, as well as of the didactyle fore-feet, 

 are particularly strong and adapted for burrowing. 

 This species carries forty-six teeth — eight incisors 

 above and six below, four canines, twelve spurious, and 

 sixteen true molars. The ears are long, elliptical, and 

 nearl}' naked ; but the tail is altogether wanting. 



Another aberrant form of Bandicoot has been described 

 by Gervais, and subsequently by Waterhouse and Gould, 

 tinder the title of Tarsrpes roslratus. It is a native of 

 Western Australia, arboreal and insectivorous in its 

 habits, furnished with moderate ears, pentadactylous 

 feet — the thumb of the hinder pair being clawless — and 

 a long prehensile tail. It possesses only two procum- 

 bent incisors in the lower jaw, four canines, and a 

 variable number of molars, only twelve remaining con- 

 stant. This anomalous species has no coecum. 



Family V.— DASYURID.®. 



The Dasyures constitute a highly carnivorous group 

 of marsupials, clearly representing the trueCamivora of 

 the placental mammals. The tj-pical forms have eight 

 incisors above and six below, four well-developed 

 canines, eight pre-molars, and sixteen true molars — m 

 all, forty-two teeth. According to Professor Owen, 

 " the spurious molars have a pointed, compressed, tri- 

 angiJar crown, with a rudiraental tubercle at the 

 anterior and posterior part of its base. The gi'inding 

 surface of the true molars in the upper jaw is triangular; 

 the first presents four sharp cusps ; the second and third 

 each five ; the fourth, which is the smallest, only three. 

 In the lower jaw the last molar is nearly of equal size 

 with the penultimate one, and is bristled with four 

 cusps, the external one being the longest." In other 

 respects the lower grmders correspond with those 

 opposed above. The anterior limbs are pentadacty- 

 lous, but the posterior pair have usually only four digits, 

 the pollex being occasionally represented by a small, 

 clawless, warty tubercle. Some of the species are 

 strong and powerfully-built animals. In all, the tail is 

 moderately long, non-prehensile, and generally hairy 

 tliroughout. The various species are natives of Aus- 

 tralia and Van Diemen's Land. 



THE imsiNE OPOSSUM [Dasyunis Ureinus), or 

 " Native Devil," as tlie Tasmanian colonists term it, 

 is a truly formidable species. It is about the size of 

 our common badger, being furnished with a coarse 

 black fur, which is here and -there irregularly marked 

 with whitish spots; The tail is rather bare under- 



