3 
2, Belideus sciurus. Squirrel Flying Phalanger. Fur very soft ; general colour delicate ashy-grey ; a black 
dorsal stripe from nose to tail ; beneath, white ; tail very long, and bushy. Habitat — the north-east coast 
of New South Wales and the Queensland coast districts. Of the three smaller Flying Phalangers this 
species is the largest in size. 
3, Belideus breviceps. Short-headed Flying Phalanger. Colouration delicate ashy-grey, as in the preceding 
species; beneath, white; a dorsal stripe on the back, and a smaller and more cylindrical tail than Belideus 
sciurus. The present species inhabits New South Wales, Victoria, and probably South Australia. It 
prefers the mountain districts, and is not found on the plains of the interior. 
4, Belideus arid. Ariel Flying Phalanger. Wor-gi — aborigines of Port Essington. General colour as the 
two preceding species ; beneath, rather more yellow ; tip of tail black. This is probably only a 
variety of Belideus breviceps. Habitat — North Australia, Port Essington. 
Genus Dactylopsila. Tail elongate, slender, densely clothed with fur, with the exception of the under-side, near 
the tip ; ears elongate, rounded, bald, except the outer side of the base ; fore-feet elongate ; toes very slender, 
compressed, very unequal in length, quite free ; the hind feet slender, toes compressed, the two inner toes 
united — in fact, the feet of a Phalanger. The skull resembles that of Belideus flaciv enter, but the palate is 
narrower, and the orbital portion more contracted ; the sagittal crest, which in Belideus is absent, is distinctly, 
but not much developed in the present genus ; the zygomatic arch is weak in both animals, though much 
curved, and wide apart ; the incisors above and below are strong, the lower ones bent upwards, very powerful 
at the base, and as broad again as those of Belideus, but the grinders are smaller. The correct formula is 
exactly as in Belideus . flaviventer . Incisors canines — , premolars molars j, = 40. 
Dactylopsila trivirgata. Striped Phalanger. General colour white, with three broad black stripes. The middle 
one runs from the head to the tip of the tail, which is black ; the two outer ones enclose the eye, and 
send a branch down each leg ; there is also a branch-stripe down the side of the neck. The habitat of 
this species is given as Aru Islands by Wallace. A specimen in the Australian Museum was obtained by 
Mr. J. A. Thorpe, at Cape Fork. 
Genus ylcrobat.es. The present genus comprises a single species, which is one of the smallest of the whole tribe 
The most important generic characters are the strongly developed canine teeth, the otherwise altered dentition, 
and the feathered tail. 
Acrobates pygmcea. Pigmy Acrobates, or Flying Mouse. Teeth ; — Incisors — , canines — j, premolars — , 
molars = 36 teeth. General mouse-colour above, white below ; tail flat and feathered, not very 
prehensile ; molar teeth as above, that is, two less in the upper and lower jaw than the other Flying 
Phalangers possess. Habitat — New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. 
Genus Dromicia. The small Phalangers composing this genus have been likened to the Dormice amongst 
Rodents ; they are, however, nothing more than small species of the Ring-tail Phalanger tribe, with the teeth 
arranged as in the last subject. Incisors -, canines — , premolars — , molars — — , 36. The ears are of 
moderate size, nearly naked, and generally carried folded down ; the toe-nails are small, and the tail long, 
prehensile, and naked beneath. The upper canines and all the premolars are strongly developed, so that, with 
other characteristics, such as the habit of folding the ears, there is some approach to the small Dasyiiridce of 
the genus Phascogale, of which we shall have to speak hereafter. The genus comprises three or four species, 
which resemble each other considerably, though they are found in localities far apart. 
Dromici gliriformis. The Thick-tailed Dromicia. The fur is of a mouse-colour, and whitish beneath. This 
specimen has been figured very fat, with incrassated tail; but being taken from a pair of captives, it may 
be as well to state that when at large they are never in such excellent condition. We examined 
several specimens from Tasmania, which appear to be identical with our own continental Dromicia 
unicolor. The King George’s Sound Dromicia ( Dromicia concinna) is probably distinct ; it appears a 
more delicate specimen, with a clean white fur beneath ; the upper surface is also of a mouse-colour, tinted 
or washed with brown. The Dromicias are found in New South Wales, Victoria, and West Australia; 
they occur, no doubt, in South Australia and Queensland as well, but being so very small are seldom 
captured. 
Genus Tarsipes. Head elongate and slender ; muffle naked ; mouth-opening small ; tongue long, slender, with a 
brush at the tip; skull with the bones very thin and semi-transparent; lower jaw consisting of two slender 
rami without coronoid process, bearing a pair of horizontally-inserted incisors, with three tubercular teeth 
behind ; in the upper jaw the canine is the largest. The dental formula is given by Waterhouse as 
follows : — Incisors canines molars or more. There can be no doubt that, through the 
Tarsipes and Myrmecobius, the Marsupialia are linked with the Monotremata, and in particular with 
the Echidna or Spiny Ant-eater (Echidnaliystriv J. 
Tarsipes rostratus. Long-nosed Tarsipes. Fur short, adpressed, and rather harsh ; general tint grey, 
more or less suffused with rust colour; sides of body distinctly tinted with rust colour, beneath rusty 
white ; back, with longitudinal black lines ; tail, dusky above, greyish beneath, prehensile. Female with 
distinct pouch, four teats, and generally two young, of such small dimensions when born that they 
would pass through the eye of a large darning-needle. Habitat — King George’s Sound, West Australia. 
