196 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



and will with great tenacity adhere to her teats when pulled out of 

 the hollow trunk where she is hiding. 



At night the animal roams about searching for food, which 

 chiefly consists of the fruits of the Corkscrew Palm, Pandanus 

 odoratissimus. Its movements are sudden and jerky, and the 

 animal is a fast and clever runner, as well as a splendid climber. 

 Being smart and well built, and in possession of a very irritable 

 and savage temper, the bite from its strong jaws is by no means 

 insignificant, and a nasty gash in the hand may easily be the 

 result of a clumsy attack on the Nunjala. 



Owing to its size and savoury flesh the natives pursue it, and 

 the animal is caught by simply chopping a hole in the hollow 

 tree where it sleeps, and pulling it out by the tail. When coloni- 

 sation reaches the forest, the Nunjala, like other species of the 

 genus, becomes a domestic parasite, and also a very noxious one. 



It is said that the European Muridce in the southern parts 

 of the continent are gradually extirpating and replacing the 

 aboriginal representatives of the Coniluridce, and I shall not con- 

 tradict the statement. I only feel confident that even Mus decu- 

 manus would find the "Nunjala" a worthy antagonist. 



Conilurus penicillatus. " Pelke." 



This little species occurred most plentifully in the neighbour- 

 hood of " Hermit Hill," and the natives brought me great num- 

 bers of it. According to them the animal invariably sleeps in 

 the corners of the stiff leaves of the common Corkscrew Palm, 

 Pandanus odoratissimus. 



The animal may be seen at night flitting about in the trees, 

 and in Arnhem Land is everywhere common in the vicinity of 

 water. It is extremely savage, and bites viciously. Whenever I 

 kept a number of them together in captivity they would always 

 fight, and very often kill each other. Their gnawing power is 

 very great, and they would in very short time bite their way out 

 of any basket or cage I might put them in. 



Wherever a house is built in the forest and people settle, 

 this species, like most other Conilurida, abandons its original 

 habits, settles in and around the house, and becomes a domestic 

 parasite. 





