TIS THE CHEROPUS. 
to the individual, and not the normal condition of the species. The size 
uv. the Choeeropus is about equal to that of a small rabbit, and the soft, 
woolly fur is much of the same colour as that of the common wild rabbit. 
It is an inhabitant of New South Wales, and was first discovered by Sir 
Thomas Mitchell on the banks of the Murray River, equally to the astonish- 
ment of white men and natives, the latter declaring that they had never before 
seen such a creature. The speed of the Chceropus is considerakle, and its 
usual haunts are among the masses of dense scrub foliage that cover so vast 
an extent of yround in its native country. Its nest is similar to that of the 
bandicoot, being made of dried grass and leaves rather artistically put to- 
gether, the grass, however, predominating over the leaves. The locality of 
the nest is generally at the foot of a dense bush, or of a heavy tuft of grass, 
and it is so carefully veiled from view by the mode of its construction that 
it can scarcely be discovered by the eyes of any but an experienced hunter. 
The head of the Cheeropus is rather peculiar, being considerably length- 
ened, cylindrically tapering towards the nose, so that its form has been rather 
happily compared to the neck and shoulders of a champagne bottle. The 
hinder feet are like those of the bandicoots, and there is a small swelling at 
the base of the toes of the fore-feet, which is probably the representative 
of the missing joints, more especially as the outermost toes are always 
extremely small in the bandicoots, to which the Chceropus is nearly allied. 
The ears are very large in 
proportion to the size of the 
animal. The pouch opens 
backwards. 
The food of the Choeropus 
is said to be of a mixed 
character, and to consist of 
various vegetable substances 
and of insects. 
THE teeth of the Dasyur- 
ines, sharp-edged and 
pointed, indicate the carni- 
vorous character of those 
animals to which they be- 
long. 
In the common DASYURE 
the general colour of the 
fur is brown, of a very 
dark hue, sometimes deep- 
ening into positive black, 
diversified with many spots 
of white, scattered appar- 
ently at random over the 
whole of the body, and 
varying both in their posi- 
tion and dimensions in al- 
most every individual. In 
DASYURE. —(Dasyurus viverrinus.) some specimens the tail is 
washed with white spots 
similar to those of the body, but in many examples the tail is umformly dark. 
In all the Dasyures this member is moderately long, but not prehensile, and 
is thickly covered with hair; a peculiarity which has caused zoologists to 
give the title of Dasyure, or “hair-tail,” to these animals. This species 
