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A USTRALIAN AND TASMANIAN ANIMALS 



throughout life. Their hind-feet present a considerable resemblance to those of 

 the Australian opossums, the second and third toes being slender and partially 

 united, but the first is without a claw and incapable of being opposed to the rest. 

 On the other hand, all the five toes of the front feet are provided with powerful 

 claws adapted for burrowing, and both pairs of limbs are short and thick. The 

 blunt and flattened head is surmounted by short or medium-sized ears, the eyes 

 are relatively small, and the tail is reduced to a mere stump. 



Wombats constitute a family by themselves, the Phascolomyidce, which is 



THE KOALA. 



represented at the present day by four species, restricted to Australia, Tasmania, 

 and the small islands in Bass Straits. Of these, the typical Pliascolomys mitchelli 

 is a native of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. Either grizzly 

 yellow or wholly black in colour, this wombat is the largest of the group, 

 measuring about 44 inches in length. The smallest is the Bass Strait wombat 

 (P. ursinus), long confounded with the Tasmanian species ; it is characterised by its 

 smaller and rather rounded ears, the naked tip of the muzzle, and the coarse, rough 

 hair. In colour the fur is uniform dark grizzled brown. The Tasmanian 

 P. tasmaniensis is a closely allied species. The fourth species, commonly known 



