PETROGALE PENICILLATA, Gray. 



Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby. 



Spec. Char. — P. mllere longo, suhrigido ; saturate fusco, purpurea tincto y pnjmno et caiidce basi ferrugineis ; humeris et 

 lateribus saturate mnoso-cinereis, hoc colore ab illo partkim siiperiorum linea pallidiore et indistincta sejuncto ; Ihiea afi- 

 gusta alba a gutture per medium pectus ducta ; auribus nigris, ad basin cinereis ; antibrachiis et antipedibus, tarsis 

 pedibusque e ferrugineo nigris ; cauda nigra, perlonga ad apicem Jloccosa . 



Descr. — Fur long and rather harsh ; general colour dusky brown tinged with purple, passing into deep rusty red on the 

 rump and base of the tail ; face dark grey ; a dusky white mark commences at the lip and extends along the 

 face to the ear ; a narrow dark line runs from the middle of the forehead nearly half way down the back ; 

 shoulders and flanks dark vinous grey, separated from the general tint of the upper surface by an indistinct line 

 of a lighter tint, in some specimens scarcely to be distinguished ; a narroAv white line extends from the throat 

 down the centre of the chest ; abdomen brown, becoming more rufous towards the lower part of the body ; ears 

 black, passing to grey at the base, and with a distinct band of rufous along the outer edge ; arms and hands, 

 tarsi and feet rusty black ; tail black, very long, and clothed with long hairs forming a brush. 

 Some specimens are more red than others. The two sexes when adult are nearly of a size, and are similar In 



colour. 

 The entire length of the male figured in the Plate is forty-three inches, but a female which lived for some time in 

 the menagerie of the Zoological Society measured forty-six inches. 



Male. 



feet, inches. 



Length from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail .... 3 7 



„ of the tail 1 10 



„ „ tarsus and toes, including- the nail 6 



,, ,, arm and hand, including the nails 5^ 



„ „ face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear ... 4^ 



„ „ face 2 



Macropus penicillatus, Gray in Griff. An. Kingd., vol. iii. pi. in p. 49. 



Kangurus penicillatus, Griff. An. Kingd., vol. v. p. 204. 



Petrogale penicillatus. Gray in Mag. Nat. Hist,, vol. i. New Series, p. 583. 



Heteropus albogularis, Jourd. Corapte rendu des Seances de I'Acad. des Sci., Oct. 9, 1839, p. 522 ? 



This species is the type of Mr. Gray's genus Petrogale, a well-marked group, comprising several kinds of Kangaroos, 

 whose natural habits lead them to resort to rocky mountains, frequently those of the most steep and precipitous 

 character ; hence it is not surprishig that so little has hitherto been known respecting this singular animal, since the in- 

 accessible nature of the locahties it inhabits precludes all opportunity for observation. 



Two specimens, apparently young females, have for a long time formed part of the collection of the Linnean Society : 

 they were received from New South Wales, a portion of the Australian continent where the species abounds wherever 

 the kind of country suitable to its habits occurs. The specimens in my own collection were procured on the Liverpool 

 range, and on the rocky sides of the mountains facing Yarrundi on the Dartbrook, a tributary of the Hunter. I also as- 

 certained that it is very abundant on Turi, and the other mountains situated to the eastward of the Liverpool Plains, and 

 it doubtless ranges over a much greater extent of country than we are yet acquainted with. It is considerably larger 

 than any other species of the genus yet discovered, and like many other of the smaller Kangaroos is strictly gregarious, 

 assembling In such numbers as to form well-beaten paths along the sides of the mountains they inhabit. Their agility 

 in leaping from rock to rock is truly surprising, often alighting upon ledges so slight and narrow that it appears almost 

 impossible for them to retain their footing : this power tends greatly to their protection, as neither the wily aborigine, 

 nor their still greater enemy the Dingo, can follow them to their retreats. When closely pursued, and during the heat 

 of the day, they seek shelter in the crevices and caverns among the rocks : to the caverns they evince a great partiality, 

 usually, however, selecting those with more than a single outlet ; a precaution rendered necessary by the frequent in- 

 trusion of the Dingo, who also resorts to similar situations. 



The Petrogale penicillata is strictly nocturnal in its habits, and during the night frequently leaves its well-beaten 

 tracks among the rocks for the grass beds on the crowns or base of the mountains, but never so far from its haunts as to 

 be unable to^retreat again on the slightest alarm. It also readily ascends the trunks of sloping trees, wearing a kind of 

 track or path in the bark : while thus occupied the tail is not made use of, but hangs down unemployed. 



As an article of food the flesh of this animal is most excellent. 



