TARSIPES 



145 



developed iii two not very distant forniR. As in the Kangaroos, 

 the atlas is open below. Pit. ursimis has 15 ribs ; the other species 

 the normal (for Marsupials) 13. Other points of likeness will be 

 mentioned nnder the description of the Koala. These animals 



- e^^^.aud 



Pig. 72. — Skull ofWombat. Phascolomys itxnnbat. (Lateral view. ) ««</, Angular pro- 

 cess ; cond, condyle of mandible ; ex.oc, exoccipital ; ext.aud^ opening of bony 

 auditory meatu.s ; ju, jugal ; Icr, lachrymal; max, maxilla; nas, nasal; p. mux, 

 premaxilla ; sq, squamosal ; ty, tympanic. (From Parker and Haswell's Zonlmjij. ) 



mainly feed upon roots ; they live in companies in burrows. There 

 are three species — Ph. ursinus, Ph. latifrons, and Ph. mitchelli. 

 Ph. ursinus is Tasmanian in range, the other two species South 

 Australian. 



Sub-Fam. 4. Tarsipedinae. — The genus TarsiiMs ought per- 

 haps to be removed from the present family. There is but a 

 single species, which is a small creature of 7 inches in total 

 length, of which the tail measures 4 inches. The teeth are 

 much dwindled, the formula being I f .0 ^ Pm ^ M :] = 22. The 

 lower incisors are procumbent. The lower jaw, moreover, has 

 not the characteristic Marsupial inflection. The intestinal canal 

 is without the caecum present in the remaining Phalangeridae. 

 It is a curious fact that this aberrant little Phalanger should 

 come from Western Australia, lilvc the even more aljerrant 

 MyrmecoMus. Like the latter also, Tarsiiges ha.s a long exsertile 

 tongue, with which, however, it extracts honey from flowers. 

 Probably it also catches minute insects in the corollas of the 

 flowers. It has been proved, in fact, that in captivity at any 

 rate the animal is insectivorous ; for it has been known to 

 eat moths. 



Fam. 3. Epanorthidae. — The extinct Epanorthidae of Pata- 



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