32 AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGY, 
most commonly supposed to serve for the support of the pouch and 
young ; but this pouch is well] developed in the female thylacine, 
and in one of the specimens which I dissected four well-developed 
teats, each two inches long, indicated that it had contained four 
young ones when, or shortly hefore, the animal was killed. My 
view of the uses of the marsupial bones is that they relate more 
immediately to an increase of power in the muscles which wind 
round them.” The general resemblance which the Tasmanian tiger 
bears to a wolf or a large dog has struck many, and has caused 
it to be arranged by some among the ordinary carnivora. Its legs, 
however, are proportionately shorter than in the wolf, and, judging 
from the structure of its feet, its body must be brought much nearer 
to the ground in walking than that of the wolf, it being what may 
be termed a semi-plantigrade animal. The head is like that of a dog; 
the ears are rather short, very broad at the base, andsomewhat pointed 
at the spol extremity. They are well clothed with hair, both 
internally and externally. The eyes are large and full; they are of 
a black colour, and provided with a nictitant membrane. Long black 
bristles spring from the upper lip; a few are also observed on the 
cheeks and above the eye. The fur of the animal is short, somewhat 
closely applied to the skin, though of a slightly woolly texture. Each 
of the hairs of which it is composed is waved, and yellow near the 
points. The general tint of the animal is greyish brown, but faintly 
suffused with yellow ; the hue is paler on the under parts than on 
the upper. The fur on the back is of a deep brown colour next the 
skin. On the back there are black bands—zebra like—usually about 
fourteen in number. They commence immediately behind the 
shoulders, and are at first narrow and confined to the back, but 
proceeding towards the tail they become gradually broader, and are 
more extended in the lateral direction. he bands on the haunches 
are the longest, and are often forked at the extremities. The 
large pads at the base of the fore feet are naked and very rough, 
The claws of the fore and hind feet are nearly equal in size, short, 
thick, but slightly compressed and solid ; they are ofa brown colour, 
The tail is about half as long as the body, thick at the base, where 
it is covered with somewhat woolly fur, hike that on the body. There 
are three or four black bands at the basal partof the tailabove. The 
female is somewhat smaller than the male. The length of one that 
lived for some years in the Zoological Gardens, London, was 
2ft. 9hin. ; the tail was 15in. long. It had 46 teeth —8 incisors above 
and 6 below, 4 canines and 28 molars, 14 of the latter being in each 
jaw. 
Habits —It is « nocturnal animal, and hence more difficult for 
the settlers to guard against. Its destructive habits have roused 
the enmity of the colonists. The great increase of sheep in all 
directions obliges the shepherds to destroy the Tasmanian tigers by 
every possible means, r. Harris was the first to make this 
marsupial known. The specimen from which his description was 
taken had been caught in a trap baited with kangaroo’s flesh, but 
being injured it did not survive many hours. The thylacine lives 
