7. MYEMECOBItrS. 313 



(1855) ; Schleg. Bierk. p. 137 (1857) ; Gieb. Saug. p. 725 (1859) ; 

 Gerrard, Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 137 (1862) ; Kreft, P. Z. S. 

 1868, p. 3 ; id. Austr. Vert. p. 16 (1871) ; Schleg. JDierent. p. 162 

 (1872) ; Gieb. Bronn's Kl. u. Ordn. vi. Abth. v. pi. xix. figs. 4 & 5 

 (skull) (1874); Brehm, Thierl. ii. p. 655, %. (animal) (1880); 

 Flow. Encycl. Brit. (9) xv. p. 381, fig. 27 (animal) (1883) ; Flow. ^ 

 Gars. Cat. Ost. Coll. Surg.'ii. p. 739 (1884) ; Beddard, P. Z. S. 1887, 

 p. 527, figs. 1-3 (anat. chest-gland) ; Thos. Phil. Trans, clxxviii. 

 p. 448, pi. xxvii. fig. 9 (lower teeth) (1887) ; Jent. Cat. Ost. Leyd. 

 Mus. p. 303 (1887). ■ 

 Myrmecobius diemenensis, Waterh. (apud Less. N. Tahl. R. A., 

 Mamm. p. 191, 1842 ; and Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 100, 1843). 



Mabsitpiai, Asteatee. 



Fur short, close, and hispid, almost spinous. Underfur thin and 

 sparse, pale grey. General colour bright rufous darkening to black 

 posteriorly, broadly banded with white. Muzzle, forehead, and 

 crown dark grizzled rufous, a white stripe over each eye, succeeded 

 below by a brown or black band passing from the side of the 

 muzzle through the eye to the base of the ear. Below this the 

 cheeks and lips are pale yellow, but there is generally an indistinct 

 rufous band running backwards from the angle of the mouth. Ears 

 long, narrow, and pointed, laid forwards they reach to just beyond 

 the anterior can thus of the eye, uniformly clothed with short closely- 

 set hairs, dull rufous behind, yellowish internally. Fore back rich 

 rufous, coarsely freckled with white, the hairs black for their basal 

 half and at their extreme tip, red or white on the intermediate 

 part. Passing backwards the white-banded hairs become so 

 arranged as to form prominent transverse stripes passing right across 

 the back, the stripes of opposite sides, however, often not exactly 

 meeting in the centre line, but overlapping and interdigitating. 

 Ground-colour of rump gradually darkening to black. Chin almost 

 hairless, flesh-colour. Throat, chest, and belly clear pale yellow *, 

 the hairs not darker at their bases ; a darker central streak on the 

 throat of old males, due to and surrounding the opening of the 

 sternal gland ; no darker colour in females or young males. Out- 

 sides of limbs like back ; inner sides, front, and back of legs, and 

 whole of hands and feet uniform pale yellow. Claws long and 

 strong, dark horn-colour. PoUex short, not reaching to the base 

 of the index. Second and fourth fingers equal, but the middle one 

 absolutely shorter than either, its first phalanx especially shortened, 

 very broad and strong ; fifth digit reaching to the middle of the 

 first phalanx of the fourth. Palms naked, smooth, with five smaU, 

 round, finely granulated pads, situated one just below the wrist, one 

 each at the bases of the first and fifth digits, and two close together 

 at the bases of the three middle fingers. Second hind toe reaching 

 to the end of the second phalanx of the third, fifth to the middle of 

 the first phalanx of the third. Soles (PL XXIII. fig. 10) hairy 



This becomes white in specimens exposed to light. 



