2 
which are of a slate-grey colour next the skin, and yellowish exter- 
nally. The back is of a brownish yellow colour, and a dorsal black 
stripe extends from the shoulders to the base of the tail, and on each 
side of this stripe the fur assumes a paler hue: the upper part of the 
head and muzzle are of the same brownish colour as the: back ; the 
under side of the body as well as the inner side of the limbs are 
yellowish ; the hairs of the moustaches are brown, and tolerably 
long, some about one inch in length. The muzzle is terminated by 
a little mujfle; the nostrils are laterally pierced and virguliform ; the 
inter-nasal furrow is nearly equal in length to the nostrils. The tail 
is furnished at the base with fur like that of the body, but the greater 
portion is covered with short hairs, as in the rat tribe: its extremity 
is naked beneath, but the naked portion is but a few lines in length. 
The ears are tolerably short, somewhat rounded, and may be com- 
pared to those of the Shrews. 
The animal is plantigrade; its hinder limbs are rather longer 
than those in front. The palm of the hand is naked, as well as that 
of the foot, which is rather narrow and somewhat elongated, as in 
certain climbmg Mammals. ‘The fore-feet are provided with five 
toes, which are free, moderately short, and naked beneath as well as 
the part above, on the ungueal phalanx of which the digital pad is 
large, and forms a little cushion, as in the fingers of the Lemuride 
which are provided with three pairs of mamme (Tuarsius, Galago, 
and Cheirogale): the thumb has the same direction as the other fin- 
gers, and like them it has a little depressed nail, which covers but a 
small portion of the apical fleshy pad. The middle finger is the largest, 
the fingers joining it are nearly equal in length, and the thumb is 
rather shorter than the outer finger. 
The principal peculiarities in the hinder limbs consist'in the 
smallness of the middle toe and that next it on the inner side, and 
these toes are united as far as the last phalanx, as in the Syndactile 
Marsupialia, and like these animals, are provided each with a pointed 
nail bearing some resemblance to a little hoof. The thumb is op- 
poseable to the other toes, has no nail, but terminated by a fleshy pad: 
the fourth and fifth toes are provided with a pad similar to that of 
the corresponding toes of the fore-feet ; they have moreover small de- 
ressed nails, which do not extend to the outer margins of the pad : 
the fourth toe is the largest, and the fifth, though shorter, extends 
beyond the line of the two syndactile toes. 
Before pointing out certain peculiarities of the skeleton of the 
Tarsipes, we may add, that in the male the scrotum is suspended in 
advance of the penis, and that in the female the mamme, four in 
number, are placed inanabdominal pouch. ‘There is but one opening 
for excretion and defecation. 
In Paris there are several specimens of this singular animal. 
The skull of a female studied by MM. Gervais and Verreaux had 
the hinder part, as well as the lower portion in the mesial line, 
injured; and this circumstance, combined with its small size, ob- 
seryes these authors, renders it difficult of examination; they were 
able, however, to observe many of its essential characters. 
— ae 
