1664 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



ALBINO RED KANGAROOS 



In the Melbourne Zoological Garde 



country, whereas the members of the family 

 Macropus are usually found in the more level 

 districts. The Rock Wallabies lean well for- 

 ward, using their long, bushy tails only for bal- 

 ancing and not as a third support, as do the 

 Macropus family, especially for the larger 

 forms. The underside of the toes are covered 

 thickly with small tubercles that prevent the 

 animals from slipping on the rocks, especially 

 when they are wet. They usually take refuge 

 during the day in caves or under rocks, coming 

 out to feed in the evening and at night. The 

 wonderful way that they can bound freely and 

 without hesitation from rock to rock, sometimes 

 onto excrescences that can hardly be seen, is 

 extraordinary. A dog naturally and fortunate- 

 ly has little chance, of catching them. In the 

 many runs among the rocks that have been 

 used by countless numbers of these animals for 

 many years past, the rocks are perfectly pol- 

 ished and shiny. No ordinary fence will stop 

 this active animal, and, should they escape from 

 captivity they seem to enjoy hopping about the 

 roofs of buildings, apparently quite at home and 

 where they cannot well be followed. 



The Brush-Tailed Wallaby (P. pencillata) 

 found in the Eastern coastal districts of Aus- 

 tralia, is a thick set animal with long, coarse 

 brown fur, a light cheek-stripe and short ears. 

 It measures thirty inches long and the tail, usu- 



ally tipped with yellow, is twenty-four inches. 

 There are three wallabies belonging to the 

 genus Onychogale (Nail-Tailed). They are 

 well marked animals having fairly long tails, 

 crested at the ends and provided with spurs. 

 These are the only marsupials that have such 

 an excrescence. Among mammals, the lion is 

 the only one that has a similar spur. The Nail- 

 Tailed Wallaby, ((). unguifera) from northwest 

 and north-central Australia is a slender and 

 graceful fawn-colored animal, with a darker 

 medium band, and white hip-stripes and under 

 parts. The body measures twenty-six and the 

 tail twenty-eight inches. The tail is long and 

 white on the upper side with a few, faint brown 

 rings showing towards the end, which is black. 

 The spur is flattened laterally and hidden in 

 the long hairs. 



Rat Kangaroos 



We now come to the Rat-Kangaroos, or as 

 they are called in Australia, Kangaroo Rats. 

 They formerly were exceedingly plentiful, but 

 dogs and foxes have taken a heavy toll of them 

 and in the settled districts they have almost dis- 

 appeared. They are about eighteen inches in 

 length with a tail fourteen inches, and of a 

 sandy-grey color. They usually sleep coiled up 

 in their nests during the day, coming out to feed 

 in the evening and at night. The largest of 



