THE VIVERKINE DASYURUS. 
443 
Dasyurus Maugei and D. viverr intis: these names having 
been applied to animals differing much in the colouring of 
their fur, it seems never to have been suspected that they 
belonged to the same species, as has been proved by the 
fact that Mr. Gould found young individuals presenting both 
conditions in the same litter—that is, black and grey speci¬ 
mens 1 . As no individuals presenting an intermediate condi¬ 
tion of colouring are found, I at first suspected the difference 
might be sexual, hut such is not the case, since I have seen 
male specimens both of the black and grey varieties. The 
former vary only from brown-black to black : the under parts 
of the body, and the feet, are generally brownish. The fur 
on the back is grey next the skin, and that on the abdomen 
is also grey, but of a paler hue. The white spots on the 
body vary in size, some being very small, and others more 
than half an inch in diameter; on the head there are a few 
small white spots. The tail is bushy, being provided with 
long hairs averaging on the basal portion about an inch in 
length, but of double that length at the point; on the under 
surface they are, however, comparatively short: in length, 
the tail is about equal to the body. The ears are tolerably 
large, and somewhat attenuated at the apex; they are clothed 
with short black hairs; these are most abundant on the outer 
surface, hut are also plentiful on the inner surface at the 
point and near the anterior angle, in which latter part the 
hail’s are considerably longer than elsewhere. The flesh of 
the ear is of a pale pink colour in the living animal, as is also 
the naked tip of the nose and soles of the feet, the latter 
being also destitute of hair, but covered with small fleshy 
tubercles. There is no trace of an inner toe to the hind 
foot, unless it be a slight swelling of the flesh, marking the 
1 See Proceedings of the Zoological Society for November, 18-10, Pt. 8, 
p. 151. 
