152 JLTARSUPIALIA 
represented by that species in New Guinea, and by P. archeri in 
Queensland. With the exception of P. peregrinus, the species have 
a more or less restricted range. Remains of Pseudochirus, probably 
referable to existing species, are found in the cave-deposits of New 
South Wales. 
Petauroides.A— With the genus Petauroides, containing only the 
single species P. vulans, we come to the first of the Flying-Phalangers, 
characterised by the possession of a flying membrane along the flanks. 
The characters of this genus are as follows. Size large. Fur very 
long and silky: Ears large and oval, thickly furred on the back, 
but naked internally. Flying-membrane reaching from wrist to 
ankle, but very narrow along the sides of the forearm and lower 
leg. Fore toes subequal, their relative lengths in the order 4, 3, 5, 
2,1. Claws long, curved, and sharp. Tail long, cylindrical, and 
bushy, except near its tip, where it is naked and prehensile. Skull 
short and broad, with the nasals short, and not extending nearly as 
far forwards as the premaxille. Large vacuities in hinder part of 
palate. Auditory bulle inflated and smooth. Dentition usually 
73, ¢%4,p%, m4. General characters of teeth very similar to those 
of Pseudochirus, but the first upper incisor scarcely longer than the 
second. 
The single species is found in Australia, from Queensland to 
Victoria, and is commonly known as the Taguan Flying-Phalanger. 
The structure of the skull and teeth indicates close affinity with 
Pseudochirus, although the external form is widely different in the 
two genera. This Phalanger seems, indeed, to be, so to speak, a 
very specialised Pseudochirus, in which the teeth have become 
somewhat further diminished and the flying membrane has been 
developed. 
Dactylopsila.2—The genus Dactylopsila is one of the forms with- 
out any trace of a flying membrane, its characters being as follows. 
Size medium. Body striped black and white. Ears oval, nearly 
naked at the ends. Fore toes of very unequal length, the fourth 
being enormously elongated; fourth and fifth toes of pes also 
markedly elongated. Claws long, moderately curved. Tail long, 
cylindrical, and evenly bushy, with the extremity more or less 
naked below. Skull narrow, but with the zygomatic arches greatly 
expanded ; palate fully ossified. Dentition: i 3, ¢ wpa, m 4. 
Upper incisors very large, the third being directed horizontally 
forwards; canine small and approximated to the third incisor, which 
it resembles. The fourth premolar of moderate size, with its longer 
axis placed obliquely. First lower incisor longer than in any other 
genus. Molars oblong, with four cusps. 
The typical D. trivirgatu, or Striped Phalanger, inhabits the 
1 Thomas, Cat. Marsupials Brit. Aus. p. 163 (1888). 
* Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 109. 
