HORN EXPEDITION—MAMMALIA. 
43 
Family Notoryctid^. 
(1) Notaryctes typhlops, Stirling. 
This animal is still very rare and difficult to procure, owing to its habits. The 
blacks say that they can only find it after rain, when the sand is firm enough to 
allow of its tracks being followed. 
Its distribution, so far as is at present known, extends as far south as 
Charlotte Waters; in all probability it will be found in the sand-hill country over 
the whole central district and in the similar country in West Australia. 
It is probably the single representative of the only family of marsupials 
confined exclusively to the Eremian region. 
A living specimen (which unfortunately died soon after), was, fflirough the 
kindness of Mr. Ross, secux’ed at Crown Point, on the Finke River. I was not 
with the party when the animal was brought in, but Dr. Stirling has kindly 
furnished me with the following notes :— 
“ The animal was let loose in the sand in the garden. It travelled over the 
surface pretty quickly, and with a lateral undulatory movement of the body, which 
was at the same time appressed to the ground. It tried repeatedly to burrow, but 
was soon stopped by the hard earth which lay beneath the two or three inches of 
loose surface sand. Eventually it began to.make its way into the hard substratum. 
In burrowing it seems to use its snout to assist in boring its way, and the claws 
of the fore-paws were used as much for cutting as for scooping; the edge of the 
large triangular nail of the fifth digit being an efficient instrument for this purpose. 
The fore-paws work under the body and do not throw the sand outwards. The 
hind-paws come into play as soon as it gets its body well under the surface, and 
are used to push back the sand. 
“ The track when moving on the surface is peculiar and unmistakeable, the 
tail, being closely appressed to the ground and seeming to form a sort of fulcrum or 
point (PappJii, leaves a zig-zag, continuous trail, and on each side of that is a more 
or less interrupted and confused track made of the paws, which are never lifted 
but dragged along. The belly also remains in contact with the surface. 
“ When taken in the hollow of the hand it made no attempt to bite, but 
worked away with its snout and paws in its unavailing attempts to burrow 
through the fingers. 
“There had been no rain when this animal was caught. It was put into a 
box of sand, which was wrapped up and kept in a warm place by the fire 
(weather cold, but not excessively so). 
