47 1 
THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
through the air as to have deserved, as well as to have received, the name of 
the daintiest imagination of the world’s greatest poet, who seems to have lav¬ 
ished upon the “ Tempest ” all the beautiful fancies which could find suitable 
place, even when the scene was to be cast in a wholly unreal world, and the 
poet was to be limited solely by the quality and fecundity of his fancy. 
The Taguan ( Petaurista 
taguanoides) is mentioned be¬ 
cause travellers seem f r e - 
quently to forget that what 
is familiar and commonplace 
to them, may be wholly 
meaningless to their readers. 
The taguan is found in New 
South Wales, and its more 
than three feet of body and 
tail render it eminent in the 
matter of size among the fly¬ 
ing phalangers. Its habits 
are nocturnal, so that by day 
it is easily captured, and it is 
greatly esteemed by the na¬ 
tives for food. 
The Australian Ariel 
, or Belideus bre- 
viceps ,) is smaller, but otherwise is very much the same as the ariel. 
The Yellow-bellied Petaurist ( Belideus flaviventer) is arboreal, and awk¬ 
ward and helpless when on the 
ground. Its soft short fur is chin¬ 
chilla-like, and added to the savori¬ 
ness of its flesh subjects it to many 
an attack from the natives of New 
South Wales. 
The Flying Mouse, Little 
Petaurist, or Opossum Mouse 
(.Acrobata pygmcea ), is about the size 
of our common mouse, and when 
at rest its white-trimmed umbrella 
is folded away so as to result only 
in undulations of white fur. It is 
not a real flyer, the parachute lend¬ 
ing temporary support and not 
being usable as wings; the peculiar 
feathering of its tail increases its 
resemblance to that of a bird. It enriches the fauna of New South Wales. 
The Beaked Tarsipes ( Tarsipes rostratus ), of Australia, is noticeable as an 
insect-feeder. Its coat of gray is striped like Magruder’s pantaloons, save that it 
wears three black stripes, not one. 
The most common species of bandicoots in Australia are Perameles 
Macroura and Perameles Obesula, and they require no description since the 
BANDED BANDICOOT. 
(Petauristus 
