236 AUSTRALIAN AND TASMANIAN ANIMALS 



australis), inhabiting the mountain-districts of New South Wales and Victoria, is 

 stated to be able to fly, not only from the summit of one gum-tree to another, but 

 also to shoot long distances upwards into the air, extending its membrane with the 

 impetus of its spring from the tree, and thus sweeping forwards with the greatest 

 certainty, and alighting on the ground or on a tree-trunk some way off, when it 

 avoids too violent a shock by ascending once more into the air as it terminates its 

 flight. Unless compelled to do so, these phalangers avoid, however, taking long 

 flights to the ground, as they are thoroughly arboreal, and move somewhat awk- 

 wardly except among the brandies. They pass the day in holes in trees, and are 

 very lively at night, when they run along the bough in search of insects and the 

 honey in the flowers at the tops of the gum-trees. A well-known species is the 

 common squirrel flying-phalanger (P. sciureus), the sugar-squirrel of the colonists, 

 which has a body-length of 20 inches, with a somewhat longer tail. Among its 

 distinctive features may be mentioned the medium-sized ears, very bushy tail, and 

 very soft fur, mostly ashy grey in colour with white and black markings ; the cheeks 

 are white, the backs of the ears, the chin, and the under surface of the flying- 

 membrane being white, while there is a black crescent under each eye and black 

 under the ears, and on the tip of the tail. 



Dormouse- Certain small phalangers, characterised by their resemblance to 



Phalangers. dormice, are distributed over Tasmania, Western Australia, and New 

 Guinea. They are also nocturnal animals, passing the day under the loose bark of 

 trees, or in other places of refuge, and feeding on honey, grass, and probably insects. 

 They may be recognised by the cylindrical mouse-like tail, covered with hair at 

 the root, scaly in the middle, and naked at the prehensile tip. The smallest is the 

 western dormouse-phalanger (Dromicia concinna), measuring in some instances 

 only about 3 inches to the root of the tail, which is a little longer than the head 

 and body. 

 Pigmy Flying- Very small, too, is the pigmy flying-phalanger (Acrobatcs 



Pnaianger. pygmceus), perhaps the smallest of all marsupials, being barely 

 6 inches in total length, of which one moiety is formed by the tail. In spite of its 

 well-developed pouch, this tiny phalanger is a most delicately formed creature, 

 whose newborn young are indescribably minute. The long, soft, silky fur is 

 brownish grey above and white beneath, with the inner side of the limbs and the 

 margins of the membrane also white. From its nearest relatives, the dormice 

 phalangers, it differs by the expanded tips of the toes, and the possession of a flying- 

 membrane, which is, however, very narrow, extending only from the elbow to the 

 knee, and disappearing on the flanks, although evidently sufficient for flight, as the 

 agility of this little animal is wonderful. The pigmy phalanger, which feeds on 

 honey and insects, is a native of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, and 

 is especially common in the vicinity of Port Jackson and Sydney Harbour. 



With the koala, or so-called native bear (Phascolarctus cinereus), 

 which is restricted to eastern Australia, from Queensland to Victoria, 

 and is a lazy, slow-moving creature, so well adapted to an arboreal life, that it can 

 with difficulty move on the ground, and when pursued takes refuge up a tree as 

 quickly as possible, we come to a totally different type of marsupial, representing 

 by itself a distinct family, the Phascolarctidce. Although koalas are occasionally 



