46 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



The Potoroo, or Kanguroo-Rats, is the last division of 

 the Marsupial family which preserves any of the characters 

 of the order Carnassier. The upper middle incisors are 

 longer than the others, and pointed ; the lower incline 

 forwards. The upper canines are large, flattened laterally 

 and pointed. The four hinder molars to the right and left 

 in the two jaws have blunt tubercles. The anterior one is 

 long, trenchant, and denticulated. 



The head is long and pointed, the ears are long, and the 

 upper lip divided. The fore-paws are very short, with five 

 toes, armed with crooked claws. The hinder are very long, 

 and thin, terminated by four toes, two of which are very 

 small ; internal and joined together as far as the first 

 phalanx. The third is extremely strong, and furnished 

 with a very thick nail. The fourth is external, of moderate 

 thickness, forming a medium between the two first and 

 third. 



The tail is long, and tolerably strong. 



There is a complete abdominal pouch in the females, 

 which contains two teats. 



The hair is soft and woolly. 



The stomach is tolerably complicated, divided into two 

 pouches, and provided with many turgescences. The in- 

 testines are short, and the caecum of moderate size and 

 rounded. 



There is but one species, the Kanguroo-Rat of our author, 

 Macropus Minor of Shaw. It is about the size of a rabbit 

 six months old. The pelt is woolly ; the upper lip furnished 

 with moustaches. The tail of moderate size, scaly, and 

 covered with a few scanty hairs. 



The habits of this animal are but little known. To 

 judge from its dentary system and digestive organs, it 

 would seem less herbivorous than the Kanguroos, with 

 which, however, the other details of its organization exhibit 



