364 MAESUPIALIA. 



nocturiial, and its size and colour, and resembles the 

 Sloth in its habits and slow movements. 



The size of an adult Koala is from 18 to 24 inches. 

 The general colour is light grey, the tips of the coarse 

 hair being white ; the upper part of the belly and chest 

 are white, as well as the iusides of the legs ; the lower 

 part of the belly is reddish-brown, of various hues, 

 approaching at times to dark brown or dark purple. 

 The fur on the hind-quarters is much shorter, and has 

 patches and spots of white. From some districts, such 

 as Melbourne, the shoulders are quite brown, and there 

 are sometimes a few white spots on the lower part of the 

 back and chest, whilst other specimens are quite dark 

 brown, verging on black, and those from Adelaide are 

 dark purple. The ears are very short, broad, and tufted 

 on the inside with longer white hairs. The head is very 

 broad and short, and surrounded with a fringe of hair. 

 The nose is bare, and whiskers are absent. The forma- 

 tion of the feet is singular ; the claws of the fore-paws 

 are five in number, the two inner ones being opposable 

 to the other three ; on the hind-paws the first toe is very 

 short, and is opposable to the other toes like the thumb 

 of a man to' the fingers ; the next two toes are small and 

 joined together; the fourth is the longest, and is 

 separate ; the fifth is Hkewise separate, but rather 

 shorter. The Koala has no molar teeth, neither has it 

 a tail. 



The whiskers are black, and the ears almost bare and 

 brown. It has 24 molars, which are joined to the canines. 



The Koala is a vegetarian, and lives in the giant 

 Eucalyptus or Blue Gum trees, on the foliage of which 

 it feeds. It is said to be rather stupid, and to be easily 

 killed with a stick. 



Mr.' Arthur Nicols says that " the voice of the Koala 



