434 



Tracks of small mammals were commonly seen on the sand- 

 hills at the Lakes Crossing, thence up the bed of the 

 Strzelecki and on the banks of the Cooper. The animals had 

 pattered around the bushes, and traps were freely set in such 

 situations and left overnight, but without success. Not a 

 single living example was seen, and rewards offered to the 

 native women, who are adepts at digging out small mammals 

 and reptiles, were disregarded owing to the plenitude of food 

 and luxuries provided by the Government. Constable Aiston, 

 of Mungeranie, told me that his cat brings in three different 

 kinds of "bush mice," but it did not oblige us on the 

 evening we spent there, offering a Fairy Martin by way 

 of variety, for which act it was suitably reprimanded by 

 Mrs. Aiston. 



Evidence of the existence of these small marsupials is 

 abundantly afforded by an examination of the pellets ejected 

 by the White Owls. These birds were found to be quite 

 common in the timbered areas bordering the Cooper between 

 Innamincka and Kanowana, and accumulations of the pellets 

 were discovered in many of the larger "spouts," from some 

 of which the birds were disturbed. On October 6 Capt. 

 White was investigating such a "spout" when a feral 

 domestic cat sprang out. It was discovered to have been 

 camping on a bed of owl pellets. It had no doubt killed the 

 owl and was then probably living upon young Galahs, which 

 were found in almost every suitable nesting place in the 

 neighbourhood. 



A subsequent examination of the pellets obtained along 

 the course of the Cooper reveals the fact that though their 

 main constituents are the remains of rodents, there is a fair 

 proportion of marsupials also. The skulls of five individuals 

 of the genus Sminthopsis were taken from one pellet, so that 

 the animals must be common in favourable localities. Owing 

 to their fragmentary character it is not possible to definitely 

 determine them specifically, but the teeth and portions of the 

 skulls preserved are indistinguishable from those of S. 

 crassicaudata. 



In addition to this species, quite a number of the smaller 

 mammals from the arid interior, both marsupials and 

 placentals, develop the base of the tail to a remarkable extent : 

 PJw^cof/ale macdonnellensis and Sminthopsis larapinta are 

 instances of the one, and Laomys peduncidatus of the 

 other. The storage of food at the base of the tail is, 

 of course, well known elsewhere : even the star-nosed mole 

 is reported to accumulate food in the tail as a provision 

 for the winter. 



