BETTONGIA PENICILLATA, Gray. 
Jerboa Kangaroo. 
Spec. Char.— Bett. fusca, ferrugineo-albo irrorata, corpore subtus sordide albo; auribus brevibus, rotundatis, et intus 
pilis brevibus flavis indutis ; tarsis pallide fuscis ; caudá ferrugineo-fuscá supernè s apice, per partem. quartam longi- 
tudinis totius, pilis fusco nigris, floccosis, instructä. 
Descr.—Fur moderately long, and not very soft to the touch; general colour brown; the hairs on the upper surface grey 
at the base, pencilled with rusty white near the tip, and black at the point ; under surface dirty white ; internal 
surface of the ear yellow; feet very pale brown; tail rich rusty brown above and pale brown beneath, the 
apical quarter clothed with brownish-black hairs, which are longer than those of the other parts of the tail, and 
form a kind of tuft. 
Male. Female. 
feet. inches. feet. inches. 
Length from the nose to the extremity of the tal . . . . . . . 2 65 29 0 
Jut وب اع ۔ کی ٹاو یب .ہی ری :ےو ی٭‎ Eed Ze WS WOEN, M 11+ 
Š „ tarsus and toes, including the nail . . . . . . . و‎ . o> = iy: 4 
^ „arm and hand, including the nails . , . va +... iM e 22 
7 „ face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear . . . dio. = 
ap ss Lar LS. 3 3 1 
Bettongia penicillata, Gray in Mag. Nat. Hist. for Nov. 1837, vol. i. New Series, p. 584. 
Hypsiprymnus murinus, Ogilby, in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part VI. p. 63. 
Aut my specimens of this little animal were collected in the interior, both on the Liverpool Plains and to the northward 
of them; I even found it plentiful on the Lower Namoi ; but whether it does or does not inhabit the coast side of the 
ranges, and over what extent of the Australian continent it is found, I am unable to state, as I only saw it in the 
localities above-mentioned. 
Like the other members of the genus, this species construets a thick grassy nest, which is placed in a hollow 
scratched on the ground for its reception, so that when completed it is only level with the surrounding grass, which it so 
closely resembles, that without a careful survey it may be passed unnoticed: the site chosen for the nest is either at 
the foot of a bush or any large tuft of grass; during the day it is generally tenanted by one, and sometimes by a pair of 
these little ereatures, which lying coiled în the centre are perfectly concealed from view; there being no apparent 
outlet, it would seem that after they have erept under they drag the grass completely over the entrance, when, as I have 
before stated, the whole is so like the surrounding herbage that it is scarcely perceptible. The natives, however, rarely 
pass without detecting its presence, and almost invariably kill the sleeping inmates, by dashing their tomahawk or heavy 
clubs at it. The most curious circumstance connected with the history of the Jerboa Kangaroo is the mode in which it 
colleets the grasses for its nest: these, as may be seen in the accompanying Plate, are carried with its tail, which is 
strongly prehensile, and, as may be easily imagined, their appearance when leaping towards their nests with their tails 
loaded with grasses is exceedingly grotesque and amusing : this curious feat is even exhibited in a state of confinement, 
the Earl of Derby having a pair of them in his Men: verie at Knowseley, which evince the same natural habits, and 
which frequently load their tails with the hay of their nests, and carry it round the cage in which they are kept. The 
most usual resorts of the Jerboa Kangaroo are low grassy hills and dry ridges, thinly intersected with trees and bushes ; 
and although not strictly gregarious, numbers may be found in the same locality. It is a nocturnal animal, lying curled 
up in the shape of a ball during the day, and sallying forth as night approaches in quest of food, whieh consists of 
grasses and roots, the latter being procured by scratching and burrowmg, for which their fore-claws are admirably 
adapted, and their vicinity ts frequently indicated by the little excavations they have made. When startled from their 
nest they bound with amazing rapidity, and always seek the shelter of a hollow tree, or a small hole in a rock, ete, 
