ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1637 



I'hotoijruiih by K R . Stillborn 



BABBIT l-.ABID BANDICOOT 



the performance. All the species have beauti- 

 ful long, soft fur. 



The Pigmy Flying Phalanger, (Acrobates 

 pygmaeus), well distributed over the eastern 

 parts of Australia, is a delicate looking little 

 creature, three inches long and with a tail three 

 and one-half inches. The soft, silky fur is 

 greyish-brown, the under-surface is white and 

 the edge of the parachute is tipped with the 

 same color. They usually have four young. On 

 the timbered ranges of the coastal districts of 

 Victoria and New South Wales, a large form of 

 riving phalanger is found, called the Yellow- 

 Bellied, (Petaitrus australis). Their color is 

 greyish-brown, but varies in shade. The claws 

 are strong and much curved, to enable them to 

 get a good hold of the tree trunk when alight- 

 ing, the body length of the species measures 

 eleven and one-half inches and the very long 

 and bushy tail is sixteen and one-half inches. 

 The Squirrel Flying Phalanger, (P. scutreus), 

 a much smaller form, measuring only ten inches 

 and tail ten and one-half inches, is light grey 

 with a dark line on the crown. They are easily 

 tamed and make interesting pets. They are 

 found in eastern Australia. 



A small, mouse-like animal, the Dormouse- 

 Phalanger, (Domica) is closely allied to the fly- 

 ing phalangers, but lias no flying-membrane. 

 Two forms are found in Tasmania. One, D. 

 h pida, measuring only three inches with a tail 



of the same length, is a graceful little animal, 

 light fawn in color with fine, soft fur like all 

 the others, numerous long whiskers and large 

 ears. The other form, D. nana, fawn in color, 

 but with the legs usually grey, also found in 

 Victoria and New South Wales, is slightly 

 larger, measuring four inches and its tail slight- 

 ly longer. They have four young at a time. 

 These little animals often have fatty accumula- 

 tions on the body. The Long-Tailed. (D. can- 

 data), which is the larger of the genus, comes 

 from northwest New Guinea. It measures four 

 inches in length, tail five and three-quarter 

 inches and the general color is rufous, with two 

 dark lines on each side of the face. 



The smallest form, the Lesser, (D. concin- 

 na). found in South and West Australia, meas- 

 ures only three and one-half inches, and the tail 

 slightly longer. Their color is fawn, and the 

 underparts white. These little animals live well 

 in captivity. Another genus. Gymnobelidi us 

 leadbeateeri, has been described from the moun- 

 tainous districts of Southeast Australia (Gipps- 

 land), and is very rarely found. It is five and 

 three-quarter inches long, tail a little longer, 

 and the color of the body is grey with a dark 

 line on the top of its head. 



THE BANDICOOTS 



The Rabbit Bandicoot. (Peragale lagotis), 



from Southwest Australia, is about the size of a 



