504 OLDFIELD THOMAS 
of variation being therefore a necessary part of the description 
of the species. 
1. Ph. penicillata, Suaw. 
Didelphis penicillata, Shaw. Gen. Zool. I. pt. 2 p. 502 pl. CXIII, 1800. 
Size large. Ears very large, thin. Tail longer than head and 
body, short-haired for its proximal, evenly bushy all round for 
its terminal half. Hind-foot with the hallucal foot pad very long, 
continuous; and with a small supplementary pad behind the 
postero-external pad. 
Head, body, limbs and proximal half of tail Mare grey : 
an indistinct darker stripe along the upper side of the muzzle. 
Bushy part of tail black. 
Skull large and strong. Nasals but slightly expanded behind, 
their greatest barely double their least width. 
Pm ‘ large above, medium below, i. e. =. 
Milk premolar (M. Pm *) present above i below. I= consi- 
derably larger and stouter than i or i+, which are of the 
same size. 
Molars “ ranging from 8.9 to 9.8 mm. 
Hab. All Australia except the extreme north; not found in Tasmania. 
2. Ph. calura, Goutp. 
P. Z. S. 1844, p. 104. 
Size medium. Ears very large, leafy. Tail longer than the 
head and body, its proximal half short-haired, terminal half 
with longer hairs. Hind-foot with the hallucal foot-pad very 
long, continuous. 
Head, body and limbs grey. Hairs on inside of ears and on 
basal half of tail above and laterally, and on basal fourth below, 
rich red. Distal half of tail black. 
Nasals slightly broader behind than in front, their greatest 
not double than least breadth. 
Pm.‘ large above, medium below, i. e. 2. Ms = about 6.5 mm. . 
I slightly larger than i? and i$, Li are about equal. 
Hab. South and Western Australia. 
