opossum of Central America. Jhnve been 
greatly reduced in uunv'.icis owing to ti e 
commercial value of their fur. I wo spe¬ 
cies occur—the brush IT. vulpeeulal, 
which may lie either black or grey in 
colour, and the ‘'ringtail" (1*. eooki), 
which is noted for the white tip on its 
tail. The first "ringtail" of which we 
have record as being secured l\v the early 
explorers was the one obtained during 
the early expedition of Captain Cook to 
Adventure Bay. 
As regards the second sub-class, (he 
polyprotodontia. there are two species 
of "native eats." The large tiger cat, 
of brown colouration, with white spots 
which extend over the body and also 
along the tail. A smaller species, the 
common “native eat,” lacks the spots 
on the tail, and may bo either black or 
brownish yellow in colour. The thyla- 
eine, or marsupial wolf, is now rare, but 
the Tasmanian devil (Ursimis harrisi) 
is to he met with in the more rugged 
parts of Tasmania, the one place in the 
world where these living forms ran he 
found to-day. They have been found 
in a fossil state on the mainland, and a 
fossil form closely allied to thylacinus 
has been found in the tertiary deposits 
of Santa Cruz, in South America. This 
forms one link in the chain of evidence 
which serves to show that Australia and 
south America were at one time con¬ 
nected land masses by means of the great 
continent of Antarctica. 
Of the remaining polyprotodonts, the 
bandicoots (l 1 . obesula and P. gunni) are 
fairlv common, but the marsupial mice, 
I»v reason of their habits, are naturally 
seldom observed. In Tasmania there 
is a wealth of species, especially of the 
hover orders, awaiting investigation, hut 
the larger marsupial types which still 
roam amidst the oucalypts ntul beeches 
of our forests are worthy of more de¬ 
tailed study. Every faet that can bq 
gathered in'regard to’such forms as TIiv- 
lai inus ami Crsinus should he not only 
noted, hut recorded, so that the infor¬ 
mation may lie of service to science in 
general. Wo have been granted a 
magnificent heritage, and therefore owe a. 
duty to posterity to see that we do not 
treat it unworthily. 
Apart altogether from the strictly 
scientific aspect is the great economic 
value of our national fauna. Much 
could be written in this regard, but 
space forbids. It is to be imped that 
the foregoing brief notes will serve in 
some small way to lend an added in¬ 
terest to native marsupial fauna, and 
that those who follow "the open way,” 
and spend certain of their days amidst 
Nature's realm, will carry on the work 
of advancing the knowledge concerning 
the furred and feathered inhabitants of 
our bush. 
•iflrpOfJ M. H cISE 1 *'' I'" 1 1-0 011 1 ' * 
J 
