TAGUAN FLYING-PHALANGER. 
325 
longer than the body, brown, and having about half an inch 
at the extremity yellowish white ; under surface of the neck, 
inner surface of the limbs and flank membranes, as well as 
the abdomen, yellowish white. Length of head and body, 
8 inches 2 lines; tail, 9 j inches, Trench measure. 
In the Paris Museum I noticed a Flying-Phalanger which 
agreed so precisely with the above description, both as to size 
and colouring, that I could scarcely doubt it was the original 
of Desmarests description. This specimen, it appeared to 
me, was a young individual of the Petaurus taguanoides : 
it had the ear densely clothed with fur on the outer surface, 
as in that species, from which it differed only in having the 
tip of the tail white; a difference which cannot be regarded 
as important, since other species sometimes have the tail 
white at the point, although normally of a different colour at 
that part. The difference which Desmarest notices as exist¬ 
ing between his P. Peronii and the P. taguanoides , viz. that 
die flank membrane in the former extends to the elbow only, 
whilst in the latter it extends to the wrist, does not exist: I 
have always found the flank membrane terminate at the elbow 
in P. taguanoides: one other difference, it would appear from 
the description, separates the two species, since the ears of 
P. Peronii are described as “ tres-jwintues possibly this 
is a misprint for tres-jwilues. 
Subgenus 2. Bdideus 1 . 
Pet nun with long and nearly naked ears, a bushy tail, the lateral 
membrane extending to the outer linger ; the outer two fingers 
of the hand long, and equal to each other, or very nearly so ; 
the second and third fingers distinctly shorter than these; 
1 From /8eAos, a dart or javelin. 
