Marsupials and Monotremes 



365 



back is a dirty or creamy 

 white, interspersed ^vith 

 various-shaped blotches of 

 nut-brown or black ; the chin, 

 breast, and under-parts are a 

 purer white, and tlie limbs 

 grey or reddish lirown, or, 

 as shown in the photograph 

 over-leaf, mottled like the 

 body. The Black Cuscus 

 of Celebes is, as its name 

 denotes, a much more sombre- 

 looking animal, and is also the 

 largest species, its dimensions 

 equalling or exceeding those 

 of a large cat. The uniformly 

 tinted Grey Cuscus of Timor, 

 Amboina, and other of the 

 Indo-]Malay Islands is very 

 similar in size and aspect, 

 excepting for the half-naked 

 talk to the common ring- 

 tailed phalanger. All the 

 cuscuses are of rare 

 occurrence in even their most 

 favoured habitats. On one 

 occasion the writer came 

 across an example of the 

 grey species in the scrub 

 forest of Thursday Island, 

 Torres Straits. In this 

 instance, however, it is 

 doubtful if the animal was 

 not an escaped pet brought 

 over from the neighbouring 

 coast of New Guinea. 



Much interesting in- 

 formation concerning 

 different varieties of the 

 cuscus is contained in Dr. 

 Alfred Wallace's interesting 

 work " The Malay Archipelago." An anecdote of one which was brought to this naturalist 

 during his residence in the Aru Islands — the headquarters of the great bird of paradise — is 

 thus related : '• Just as we had cleared away and packed up for the night, a strange beast 

 was brought, which had been shot by the natives. It resembled in size and in its white 

 woolly covering a small fat lamb, but had short legs, hand-like feet with large claws, and a 

 long prehensile tail. It was a Spotted Cuscus, one of the curious marsupial animals of the 

 Papuan region, and I was very desirous to obtain the skin. The owners, however, said they 

 wanted to eat it; and though I offered them a good price, and promised to give them all the 

 meat, there was great hesitation. Snspecting the reason, I offered, though it was night, to set 

 to work immediately, and get out the body for them, to which they agreed. The creature was 

 much hacked about, and the two hind feet almost cut off, Ijut it was the largest and finest 



Hi/ IKi-m 



III of S. Siiiclarr. iis'/,] 

 EIXG-TAILED OrOSSUM, OR PHALAKGEE, AND NEST. 

 This is the nnly Australian opnssiini ivhich l)iTiMs a rccnilar nest. 



[Siifl,i,i,. 



