11. potOeotjs. 119 



straight, mainly consisting of underfur. General coloip coarsely 

 grizzled dark greyish brown, with a greater or less suffusion of rufous. 

 Face long and narrow, grey, without special markings. Ears short, 

 rounded, hairy, their backs dark brown. Back with the longer hairs 

 grey for their basal three fifths, then with a broad white subterminal 

 ring and a black tip. Underfur slaty blue for three fourths of its 

 length, then dirty greyish white or rufous at the tip, this colour 

 showing through and giving the general tone to the hody-colour ; 

 younger specimens generally more rufous, older greyer. Sides like 

 hack. Chin, chest, and helly white or greyish white, the hairs 

 slate-coloured at their bases. Hands and feet short-haired, grey or 

 brown. Tail grey at bases, then brown, hecoming gradually darker 

 to black terminally ; its extreme tip often white, especially in Tas- 

 manian examples. 



SJcull very long and narrow. Muzzle not markedly inflated 

 laterallj' (its breadth at the middle of the premaxillo-maxiUary su- 

 ture less than the length of the molar series), and more or less 

 flattened above, so that its upper outline is straight or concave. 

 Nasals (PI. XIV. flg. 10) variable, generally long and narrow and 

 scarcely expanded behind, but sometimes (in northern examples) 

 much shorter and more expanded posteriorly. Interorbital region 

 smooth, its edges square or slightly rounded, and forming in old 

 age rudimentary postorbital processes. Anterior palatine foramina 

 extending from about the middle of i." to just in front of the canines. 

 Posterior vacuities small, opposite m.' and m.* 



Teeth. Incisors and canines as described above. V* (PI. XIII. 

 fig. 12) very variable ; in the large Tasmanian form (" apiealis ") 

 7 or 8 miUim. long, with four distinct grooves ; in the smaller New 

 South Wales examples, and in the still smaller Tasmanian form 

 described as " rufus," 6 or 7 millim. long, with only three grooves. 

 Deciduous p.' varying jpari passu with p.* Molars evenly quad- 

 rangular, their size (m.^ to m.') ranging from 11'5 millim. in " rufvs " 

 to 14 millim. in " apiealis." 



Dimensions. 



<?. 

 i (stuffed), 

 millim. 

 Head and body .... 410 



Snd foot: ::::::::: %i{ ^^^^f 7 *" f ^j° ." T'f'i 1 



Muzzle to eye 61 1 ^""^ ^"^'^ *° ^^ ^° "*>*• ■< 



Ear 35 



Skull, see p. 125. 



Bab. New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, 



Type not in existence. 



The variation in size of this species makes it difficult to decide, 

 without much more material, whether it should be divided into 

 three or amalgamated into one. The general rule seems to be that 

 Tasmanian specimens ("P. apiealis," Gould) are decidedly larger 



