SHORT-NOSED PBRAMELES. 
369 
■white, or nearly so. Towards the end of the muzzle the hairs 
assume an uniform dusky brown hue; the lips, chin, and 
throat, are whitish. The hairs of the moustaches are weak, 
and by no means numerous. The ears are rather small, and 
tolerably well clothed with small hairs; those on the inner 
side are yellow, but towards the margin brownish; on the 
outer side they are dusky, but paler on the posterior part, 
and there is a faint indication of a pale spot at the base near 
the anterior margin. The fore feet are whitish ; the tarsi 
are dirty white, tinted with yellowish, and freckled with blackish 
on the upper surface ; on the inner side they are of a delicate 
yellow. The tail is about one third of the length of the body, 
or rather less, and clothed with small hairs; about one inch 
of the basal portion has the hairs longer, more nearly like 
those of the body, and variegated with black and yellow; 
beyond this part the upper surface is dusky ; on the under 
surface the hairs are of a dirty yellowish tint. 
The short-nosed Perameles (Porcaline Opossum of Shaw 1 ) 
has an unusually wide range, being found in New South 
Wales, South Australia, King Georges Sound, the Swan 
Eiver district, and Yan Diemens Land. I have examined 
specimens from each of these localities, and taken much pains 
to satisfy myself of their specific identity. The males I 
have found usually larger than the females; their fore feet are 
proportionately larger, and so are the canine teeth. 
The colouring varies somewhat in different individuals of 
P. obesula, and is darker than that of other species, if we 
except the P. macro lira. 
1 I have examined the original specimen described by Shaw, and feel no 
doubt that it is a young individual of the present species. I may add, that the 
skull figured by Geoffroy in the Annales du Museum, and supposed to belong 
to the same species, is decidedly that of P. olesula. 
VOL. 1. 
