PIIASCOGALE. 
403 
nailless, prehensile thumb. Tail either clothed with short 
hair throughout, or with short hairs only on the basal por¬ 
tion, the apical having long and bushy hair. The females 
sometimes destitute of pouch; mammae eight, arranged in 
a circle. 
The differences which present themselves upon comparing 
the skulls of these small DasyuricUe with those of the larger 
species of the family, are of the same nature as those to 
which I called attention at p. 308, when comparing the 
smaller Phalangers with the larger. In addition to the com¬ 
paratively large size of the cranial cavity, and of the occipital 
opening, and tlic very slight indications of muscular ridges 
in the skulls of the Phascogales, I may notice that the 
spinous processes of the cervical vertebne in their develop¬ 
ment follow* very closely that of the muscular ridges of 
the skull. 
The two foremost incisor teeth of the upper jaw are slightly 
separated from the rest; the remaining three on either side 
are closely packed: the canine teeth are tolerably well deve¬ 
loped: the premolars are compressed and pointed, and, 
viewed from the outer side, present nearly a triangular figure; 
the two foremost have a small anterior and posterior tubercle; 
in the third, a posterior small basal tubercle only remains. 
The molars, which, together with the premolars, form a con¬ 
tinuous series, have the masticating surface of a triangular 
form; they each have three external cusps, two in the mesial 
line of the tooth, and one internal lobe, if we except the 
last, which has but two external cusps, one mesial, and one 
internal tubercle. The true molar teeth of the lower jaw 
have each three principal cusps, two placed on the inner side 
of the tooth, and one on the outer side; and besides these 
there is a posterior lobe, which is more or less distinctly 
divided by a notch into two tubercles; these are, however, 
but little elevated. 
