12 
HORN EXPEDITION—MAMMALIA. 
Order Marsupialia. 
Sub-order DIPROTODONTIA. 
Family MACROPODiDiE. 
Sub-family Macropodime. 
(1) Macropus rufus^ Desmarest. The red kangaroo. 
The numbers in which this, as other forms of marsupials, are met with doubt¬ 
less varies with the seasons and the consequent amount and quality of food 
av^ailable. Mr. Sanger says — “This animal is but rarely seen, and only after a 
heavy rain, when there is plenty of vegetation for it to feed upon. Towards the 
confines of the desert it is more numerous.” We saw it frequently in small 
numbers throughout all the plain districts, just as the Euro (d/. robuslus) is met 
with amongst the I’anges. We never saw more than ten or twelve feeding 
together ; amongst these would be two or three large rufous-coloured males, while 
the rest would be smaller blue-grey females and young ones. 
It was seen evei’ywhere in the plains from Mt. Olga, lying south of Lake 
Amadeus, to the Burt Plains, lying north of the McDonnell Ranges, and in all the 
intervening country. In a note with regard to the specimens in the British 
Museum collection, to which the locality of West Australia is attached. Mi’. 
Thomas says that probably this is incorrect, as no other record exists of the 
occurrence of M. rufus there, and Gould states that it is not found west of ^iouth 
Australia. At Mt. Olga we were not very far away from West Australia, and the 
same class of country, stretches right across into the latter. As Macropus rujus is 
the characteristic kangaroo of this country, there can be no doubt whatever that 
its range does extend into the inland parts of West Australia. 
The following notes refer to two skulls brought back ;—The first is that of an 
“ aged” animal from the Horn valley amongst the McDonnell Ranges. The upper 
incisors have very little enamel-covered portion left, ni} is worn down to a mere 
shell. No transverse anterior ridge is left in ;/d or uiK In ni^ the anterior 
transverse ridge is worn down until it shows a union in the middle with the large 
ridge behind. 
In the lower jaw ni}- is very small and nearly worn away. The left anterior 
palatal foramen is 15'5 mm. long, the right foramen is only 11 mm., showing thus 
a dillerence of 4'5 mm. in length between the two. 
Nasals .—Greatest length, 72 mm.; least combined width (in middle), 18 mm.; 
greatest combined width (at the posterior end), 28 mm. 
