HAPALOTIS PENICILLATA, Gould. 
Pencil-tailed Hapalotis. 
Mus penicillatus, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 12. — Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. x. p. 405. — List 
of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., p. 109. 
Hapalotis melanura, List of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., p. 115. ? 
This animal was procured by Mr. Gilbert during bis short sojourn at Port Essington on the Cobourg 
Peninsula in Northern Australia, in which part of the country it was also obtained by Mr. MacGillivray and 
sent by him to the late Earl of Derby ; specimens from the same country are also contained in the collection 
at the British Museum. 
It is in every respect a true Hapalotis, and may be readily distinguished from the other members of the 
genus by the blackness of its tail, the hairs of which are much lengthened ; and by the rigid, almost spiny, 
nature of the hairs clothing the back. Its habits would seem to be somewhat singular, inasmuch as it is 
frequently found among the swamps on the sea-shore ; I have no evidence, however, that it is not also 
found in the interior of the country. I find the following note respecting it among the papers of the 
late Mr. Gilbert : — 
“This little animal is only seen on the beach where there are large Casuarina trees, in the dead hollow 
branches of which it forms a nest of fine dry grass, and retires during the day ; in the evening it leaves its 
retreat and proceeds to the beach, where it may be seen running along at the edge of the surf as it rolls up 
and recedes, apparently feeding upon any animal matter washed up by the waves.” 
The fur of the upper surface is greyish brown grizzled with buff, with a rusty tint on the region of the 
occiput and back of the neck; around the angle of the mouth, the chin, throat, and all the under parts of 
the body, as well as the feet and inner side of the legs, are white with a faint yellow tint or cream-coloured, 
and the hair of these parts is of a uniform tint to the roots except on the chest, where they are grey next the 
skin : the tail is sparingly clothed at the base with minute bristly hairs ; but about the middle the hairs 
become of a black colour and longer, and towards the apex attain a considerable length, measuring at and 
near the tip half an inch or more : the ears are sparingly clothed with minute hairs. 
The figures represent the two sexes of the size of life. 
