504 OLDFIELD THOMAS 
of variation being therefore a necessary part .of the description 
of the species. 
1. Ph. penicillata, SHAW. 
Didelphis penicillata, Shaw. Gen. Zool. I. pt. 2 p. 502 pl. CXHII, 1800. 
Size large. Ears very large, thin. Tail longer than head and 
body, short-haired for its proximal, evenly bushy all round for. 
its terminal half. Hind-foot with the hallucal foot pad very long, 
continuous; and ‘with a small supplementary pad behind the. 
postero-external pad. 
Head, body, limbs and proximal half of tail uniform grey : 
an indistinct darker stripe along the upper side of the muzzle. 
Bushy part of tail black. 
Skull large and strong. Nasals but slightly expanded behind, 
their greatest barely double their least width. 
Pm * large above, medium below, i. e. =. 
Milk premolar (M. Pm *) present above and below. I + consi- 
derably larger and stouter than i~ or i+, which are of the 
same size. 3 
Molars * ranging from 8.9 to 9.8 mm. 
Hab. All Australia except the extreme north; not found in Tasmania. 
2. Ph. cakura, Goutp. 
P. Z. S. 1844, p. 104. Dt 
Size medium. Ears very large, leafy. Tail longer than the — 
head and body, its proximal half short-haired, terminal half 
with longer hairs. Hind-foot with the hallucal foot-pad very 
long, continuous. 
Head, body and limbs grey. Hairs on inside of ears and on 
basal half of tail above and. laterally, and on basal fourth below, 
rich red. Distal half of tail black. 
Nasals slightly broader behind than in front, their greatest 
not double than least breadth. 
Pm.* large above, medium below, i. e. =. Ms 2? about 6.5 mm. 
I= slightly larger than i* and i*, which are about equal. 
Hab. South and Western Australia. 
