1866.] MR. G. KREFFT ON THE AUSTRALIAN DASYURID.E. 431 



6. Noctilio leporinus, Liune. 



7. FURIA HORRENS, F. CuV. 



8. Molossus obscurus, Geoffr. 



9. Vespertilio parvulus, Temminck. 



4. On the Classification of the small Dasyurida? of Australia, 



with Descriptions of Two New Genera and One New 



Species. By Gerard Krefft, Curator and Secretary of 



the Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, 



Corr. Memb. 



(Plate XXXVI.) 



Few groups of animals have been so little understood as the small 

 Marsupial Insectivores of Australia ; the difficulty in procuring a 

 number of specimens of these nocturnal creatures, and the carelessness 

 of some authors, who will not take the trouble to examine a species 

 properly before assigning it a position in the genus to which it appears 

 to belong, have caused a confusion which I will try to correct. 



The Marsupial Insectivora have hitherto been divided into three 

 genera : — Phascogale (Temminck), Antechinus (MacLeay), and Po- 

 dabrus (Gould). Of these, only two, namely Phascogale and Ante- 

 chinus, have been denned by their respective founders ; while of 

 Podabrus I cannot ascertain the true characters beyond what Mr. 

 Waterhouse tells us, that it comprises the Phascogalce with slender 

 feet. Whether this is sufficient for the establishment of a new genus 

 without giving some information regarding the teeth of the animal, I 

 do not know ; but for the present it will perhaps be better to retain 

 the genus. I now propose to divide these small Insectivores as fol- 

 lows : — 



Phascogale, Temminck. 



Dasyuridse with the two foremost incisors of the upper and lower 

 jaw larger than the others, with short broad feet, more or less naked 

 tarsi, rather long and soft fur, and with five toes to each foot, the 

 inner toe of the hind foot being a nailless prehensile thumb. 



Habits arboreal. Pouch absent. Mammae ten. Apical portion 

 of tail clothed with long bushy hair. Dentition : — I. g^ 3 ; C. -^r l ; 

 p iLz. 3 . M —=46 



1. Phascogale penicillata (Gould, Mamm. Austr. i. pi. 31). 

 Hub. The coast districts from Swan River to New South Wales. 



2. Phascogale calura (ibid. pi. 32). 



Hab. The interior of Australia, from the Williams River to the 

 Lower Murray, including Victoria, South Australia, and New South 

 Wales. 



