2o6 THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



Melbourne University, and Dr. Stirling are the principal authorities 

 on this remarkable Marsupial and its habits. The eyes of the 

 Notoryctes are atrophied and it has no external ears. The fur is 

 long and silky, the colour varying from a light shade to a 

 deep chestnut-brown; the tail is hard and distinctly "ringed," and 

 is about one inch in length, while the head and body measure 

 about six inches. The Marsupial Mole is a dweller among sand 

 hills. 



POUCHED MICE. — The animals belonging to this genus are 

 widely distributed; they range over the whole of the Australian 

 continent, New Guinea and adjacent islands. Shrew-like in 

 appearance, they are very charming little creatures, arboreal in 

 habits and live on insects. Thirteen species have been described, 

 and all are of small size. 



BRUSH-TAILED POUCHED MOUSE.— One of the most familiar 

 forms is the Brush-Tailed Pouched Mouse (P. penicillata), which is 

 found all over Australia, except in the far North. It is about the 

 size of the Common Rat (Rodent), stout in form and clad in short, 

 coarse fur, grizzled pale-grey above and white or pale-grey on the 

 under-parts. The length of the head and body is about ten inches, 

 while the tail, which is covered from about midway to the tip with 

 long black hairs forming a brush, measures six inches. The Brush- 

 Tailed Mouse is a tree-dweller and nests in hollow spouts and holes 

 in the branches. It is very graceful in its movements and makes 

 a delightful pet. Strangely enough, just before the writer started 

 to describe the Pouched Mice, a fine example of the species under 

 consideration was brought to him for identification. It was muti- 

 lated, a domestic Cat having captured the little animal in the 

 vicinity of a bush homestead. 



NARROW-POOTED POUCHED MICE.— The Narrow-Footed Pouched 

 Mice of the genus Sminthopsis are distinguishable from the 

 Phascologale by the characteristic form of the hind-feet, which 

 their name implies. In the Phascologale the hind-feet are broad, 

 with naked soles. In the Narrow-Footed Mice the soles of the 

 hind-feet are granulated. There are six species of these dainty 

 creatures. The Common Pouched Mouse {S. murina) measures 

 only three and a half inches from tip of nose to root of tail, and 

 the tail is about the same length. The colour of the fur is much 

 the same as that of the household Mouse, which indeed the animal 

 closely resembles in other external aspects. 



