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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 6

B. Marsupialia

B. Marsupialia.

Rhizophaga.—Wombat-Tribe.

Phascolomys.

P. Wombat. Tasmania, and islands of Bass' Straits.

P. latifrons. Eastern parts of South Australia.

P. platyrhinus. New South Wales.

P. niger. Port Lincoln, South Australia.

There are four distinct species of Wombats now living, all of an average size, and seldom exceeding 100 lbs. in weight. The western species existed in New South Wales during the post-pleiocene period. Wombats are nocturnal in their habits, and live in burrows. Their flesh is very palatable.

Carpophaga.—Phalanger-Tribe.

Phascolarctos.

P. cinereus. Koala, or Native Bear.

Only one species of this singular form is known, which inhabits the southern and eastern portions of Australia, and extends to the tropics.

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Phalangista.

P. canina.

P. fuliginosa.

P. vulpina.

These three animals are varieties of the common Opossum. The first inhabits the Clarence River District, the second is found only in Tasmania, and the third is distributed generally over Australia. All have a brushy tail.

P. Cookii.

P. viverrina.

P. laniginosa.

The Ring-tailed Phalangers or Opossums are varieties of each other, and found in almost every part of Australia; the first occurs on the east coast; the second in the interior, on the south coast, and also in Tasmania; the third is a local variety of the Clarence River District. All these animals (Phalangers) are about the size of a half-grown cat; and they resemble in their dentition the great Flying Phalanger of the genus Petaurista.

Dromicia.

D. gliriformis.

D. concinna.

D. unicolor.

The Dromicias inhabit the southern portion of Australia and Tasmania. They are small Ring-tail Phalangers, and never grow larger than about the size of a common mouse. Little is known of these creatures, which are seldom captured; they live principally on honey and soft insects.

Cuscus.

C. brevicaudatus.

C. maculatus.

Inhabitants of North Australia, which are allied to the Phalangers proper; they appear to be rather more carnivorous than the rest, and both have been added only lately to the Australian fauna.

Dactylopsila.

D. trivirgata.

The habitat of this animal is also North Australia; it is a curious form connecting the Flying Phalangers with the genus Phalangista; the membrane between arms and legs is absent, but the tail has a feathery appearance, and resembles that of the little Acrobata; skull and dentition are like Belideus flaviventer; the size of the animal is about that of a common rat.

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Petaurista.

P. taguanoides. Great Flying Phalanger.

A species closely allied to the Ring-tail Phalangers; the skulls of these two genera are much alike, their teeth also resemble each other. Habitat, East Australia; not found on the Plains of the interior, or on the West coast.

Belideus.

B. flaviventer.

B. sciureus.

B. breviceps.

Of these Flying Phalangers the first is the largest, and about the size of a cat, but less bulky; the other two are much smaller; they inhabit South and East Australia, and have not yet been recorded from the West coast. They are restricted to mountain districts, and not found on the Plains of the interior. B. notatus and

B. ariel are varieties of the B. breviceps.

Acrobata.

A. pygmæa.

The smallest of the tribe, less than a common mouse in size, and distinguished by a feathery tail. Habitat, the southern and eastern portions of Australia.

Tarsipes.

T. rostratus.

This little creature, with its almost toothless jaws, belongs certainly to the Phalanger family, and connects it with the Monotremata. The teeth are very diminutive and soon lost, except the canines, a few of the back teeth, and the lower incisors, which are very fine, straight, and almost horizontally inserted in the ramus. The tongue is rather long, covered with hair near the tip, enabling the animal to insert it into flowers and obtain their honey.

Poephaga.—Kangaroo-Tribe.

The Kangaroos vary considerably in size and in the form of their teeth; and the smaller species are generally furnished with strong canines. Some of them have prehensile tails, and they can ascend small trees; others have long pliable tails and very short tarsi; these are known as Rock-Wallabies or Rock-Kangaroos, and frequent mountain districts. Others again possess short stiff tails and long heads; they resemble in appearance the Bandi-coots, and where on the one hand the prehensile-tailed group of Bettongs approaches the Phalangers we observe on the other side, in the Rat Kangaroos, an inclination to the Bandicoot family in their elongated skulls and stiff and short tails.

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Space will not permit to go into detail, and we divide the family as follows :—

A.—Large Kangaroos with small premolar teeth, which are soon lost.

Macropus.

a. Male and female, uniform in colour.

M. major. Southern and Eastern Australia.

M. ocydromus. West coast.

M. fuliginosus. South Australia.

M. antilopinus. North Australia.

M. Isabellinus. North-west Australia,

M. Parryi. Eastern Australia.

b. Female, different in colour from the male.

M. rufus. Plains of the interior.

M. robustus. Rocky districts of the East coast.

In both these animals the female is of a much lighter colour, sometimes almost white.

The large Kangaroos attain a weight of 200 lbs. and more.

B.—Kangaroos of smaller size, with permanent premolar teeth; weight of adult up to 50 lbs.

Halmaturus.

H. dorsalis. New South Wales and Queensland.

H. ruficollis. New South Wales.

H. Bennettii. Tasmania.

H. Ualabatus. New South Wales.

H. Mastersii. New South Wales and Queensland.

Ruficollis and Bennettii are stated to be varieties of each other; so are Ualabatus and Mastersii, though very different in colour. H. agilis is also a large species from the north-east coast.

Animals up to 30 lbs. weight.

H. Greyi. South Australia,

H. manicatus. West Australia.

H. Derbianus. South Australia.

H. Hautmanni. Hautmann's Abrolhos, W.A.

H. Billardieri. South coast districts and Tasmania.

"Pademelons," or small Kangaroos, and from 10 to 15 lbs. in weight.

H. parma. East coast of N. S. Wales.

H. dama. West Australia.

H. Thetidis. Coast districts of New South Wales.

H. stigmaticus. North-east coast.

H. brachyurus. West Australia.

H. Wilcoxi. Clarence District and Southern Queensland.

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These animals inhabit the mountain districts near the coast, and are seldom, if ever, found on the plains of the interior.

Rock-Wallabies or Rock-Kangaroos, with long pliable tail not incrassated at the base, inhabiting mountain districts on the southern, eastern, and western coast-line. Weight of animal up to 30 lbs. :—

Petrogale penicillata. Eastern parts of New South Wales.

Petrogale inornata. Eastern parts of New South Wales.

Petrogale xanthopus. South Australia.

Petrogale brachyotis. West and north-west coast.

Petrogale lateralis. West and north-west coast.

Petrogale concinna. West and north-west coast.

Strong-armed Kangaroos or Tree-Kangaroos.

Dendrolagus.

D. ursinus. New Guinea.

D. ursinus. New Guinea.

These animals ascend trees, and are distinguished by their powerful fore-limbs and long pliable tail, which resembles that of the Rock-Wallabies. A third species, Dorcopsis Bruni, also inhabits New Guinea, but is terrestrial, though the fore-legs are more strongly developed than is usual in Kangaroos. The weight of these animals we should judge to be about 30 lbs. The D. Bruni was the first Kangaroo ever discovered, many years before Cook's voyages.

Silky-haired or Nail-tail Kangaroos.

Onychogalea.

O. unguifer. North-eastern parts of Australia.

O. frænata. Plains of the interior of New South Wales and Victoria.

O. lunata. Plains of the interior of South and West Australia.

This group comprises the small silky-haired Wallabies or Kangaroos of the interior; they weigh seldom more than 8 or 10 lbs., and are about the size of a common hare. Their light-grey fur is of a peculiar softness; the tail has a bare nail-like tip. This and the following genera possess more or less developed canine teeth.

Hare Kangaroos.

Lagorchestes.

L. fasciatus. West Australia.

L. hirsutus. West Australia.

L. conspicillatus. West Australia.

L. leporoides. Plains of New South Wales, South Australia, and "Victoria.

L. Leichardti. North-east coast and Victoria,

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The Hare-kangaroos, so called from their resemblance to that well-known rodent, are the fleetest of the whole tribe, and though they do not exceed a common hare in bulk, they will make clear jumps of 8 and 10 feet high; their arms are exceedingly short, and when progressing cannot be noticed, as they are pressed close to the body and are hidden by the long fur; the hind legs are very long and slender, and the tail rather short and stiff and not incrassated at the base; the canines are well developed.

Bettongs or Jerboa Kangaroos.

Bettongia.

B. cuniculus. Tasmania.

B. Graii. New South Wales, South and West Australia.

B. campestris. South Australia.

These three species of Bettongs resemble each other very much, and are probably nothing but local varieties. The western and southern animal, that is, B. Graii and B. campestris, form extensive burrows which the Tasmanian species does not; their tails are more or less prehensile; weight, 8 to 10 lbs.

B. penicillata. Interior of New South Wales.

B. Ogilbyi. West Australia.

These two animals also resemble each other; they are very small, probably not more than 4 or 5 lbs. in weight; their tail is prehensile, and they can climb well. We have seen them get over a close palisade-fence 8 feet high. This group connects the Kangaroo-tribe with the Phalangers.

Rat Kangaroos.

Hypsiprymnus.

H. murinus. New South Wales.

H. apicalis. Tasmania.

H. Gilberti West Australia.

H. platyops West Australia.

The true Rat-Kangaroos approach the Bandicoot-tribe, and some of the best naturalists nave classed them as Bandicoots when the skull could not be examined; their limbs are of more equal length; and the tail is like that of the Bandicoots,—short and rather stiff; the head of the Rat-Kangaroo is elongate (that of II. platyops excepted), and the canine teeth are strongly developed.

page 13

Entomophaga.—Bandicoot-Tribe.

Perameles.

P. nasuta. New South Wales.

P. Gunnii. Tasmania.

P. myosurus. West Australia.

P. fasciata. South Australia.

P. obesula. Southern Australia and Tasmania.

The Bandicoots are distributed over every part of Australia, hut never in great numbers; the first species is of the size of a rabbit, and the next three are as largo as a common Norway rat. The last is heavier, but stands very low on its legs, and .has a harsh and coarse fur. The tribe did not receive sufficient attention from naturalists, who generally fail to give a description of the teeth; it is highly probable that another species or two exist in the north and in New Guinea, and that some of our continental animals, such as P. myosurus and P. fasciata, are varieties only.

Peragalea.

P. lagotis. Rabbit-eared Peragalea or Rabbit-rat of the Colonists.

An aberrant form of the Peramelidæ;, with rather long compressed and crested tail, inhabiting the interior of South Australia, New South Wales, and West Australia, The head is very elongate, the ears long, and the fur soft and silky; the canine teeth are strong and recurved, very powerful, and the grinders conical, without fangs, except a few tubercles. The Peragalea burrows, and is not gregarious, a pair only occupying one of the warrens.

Chæ Ropus.

C. castanotis. The interior of New South Wales, South, and West Australia.

The Chæropus is known as the pig-footed Bandicoot, having only two functional toes to the fore-feet; the hind legs are like those of the Kangaroo and Bandicoot. The teeth of this animal are feeble, in particular the canines; the tail resembles that of the Peragalea, with a crest of hair on the upper edge.

The dentition of the Bandicoots resembles the carnivorous section, the Dasyures.

Sarcophaga.—Native-Cat Tribe.

The largest species of this group are few in number, and only one of them, an inhabitant of Tasmania, is formidable, and may become dangerous to man. The smaller kinds represent the page 14 shrews and hedgehogs of the Placental series, and they do not exceed a rat in size; some are not larger than a common shrew-mouse. We divide the Dasyures in the following sections :—

Tasmanian "Tigers."

Thylacinus.

T. cynocephalus. Greyhound tiger.

T. breviceps. Bull-head tiger.

Both inhabiting Tasmania, the bull-head species having a more powerful dentition than the T. cynocephalus, and in particular the premolar teeth closer together; the palatial opening is also much smaller in the T. breviceps, and the head shorter.

Tasmanian "Devil."

Sarcophilus.

This section contains but one example, the Sarcophilus ursinus, a very ferocious but small animal, the habitat of which is restricted to Tasmania. This species should be classed with the Dasyures proper, on account of its dentition, which is the same as in the next group; premolars, 2-2/2-2; the Thylacine having 3-3/3-3 of these teeth.

Native-Cats.

Dasyurus.

D. maculatus. Eastern and Southern coast districts, Tasmania, and islands of Bass's Straits. The largest of the tribe, with spotted tail.

D. viverrinus. The common Native-cat has a wide distribution over the southern and eastern parts of Australia; it is also found in Tasmania.

D. Geoffroyi and D. hallucatus are varieties from Western Australia, the interior of South Australia, New South Wales, and Queensland. These animals are furnished with a rudimentary nailless thumb to the hind foot.

Spiny-tails.

Chætocercus.

C. cristicauda.

A small animal of the size of a half-grown rat, with premolars 3-3/2-2, a rather thick tail, and a black hairy crest on the upper edge. Habitat, South Australia.

page 15

Tapoa-tafas, or Brush-tails.

Phascogale.

P. penicillata inhabits almost every part of Australia; it is a small animal the size of a rat, with black brushy tail, and of a uniform grey colour. The premolars number as in the genus Thylacinus.

P. calura is a smaller species, found in the interior of New South Wales, South and West Australia; both are arboreal.

Broad-footed "Pouched-Mice."

Antechinus.

A. Swainsoni. Tasmania,

A. apicalis. West and South Australia.

A. flavipes. Australia generally.

A. Stuarti. Sydney.

A. maculatus. Queensland.

A. miniutissimus. Queensland.

The first four are about the size of a half-grown rat. The last not larger than a small mouse; they frequent shrubs and trees, except A. Swainsonii, which is terrestrial in its habits.

Slender-footed "Pouched-Mice."

Podabrus.

P. macrourus. Queensland.

P. crassicaudatus. Interior of New South Wales.

P. albipes. Australia generally.

P. murinus. Australia generally.

P. fuliginosus. Australia generally.

P. feruginifrons. Australia generally.

P. apicalis. Australia generally.

Several other small slender-footed Marsupials have been described, but merely on account of a slight difference in coloration; nothing being said about their teeth. We consider the above five species varieties only. The slender-footed animals which have been arranged under the genus Podabrus are principally terrestrial in their habits. A larger kind, P. Mitchellii, from the interior of New South Wales, should be added to this list. The original is in the Australian Museum, but much mutilated; it was discovered by the late Surveyor-General of New South Wales, Sir Thomas L. Mitchell, K.C.B.

page 16

Jumping "Pouchcd-Mice."

Antechinomys.

The above genus was established for the reception of the little animal described as "Phascogale lanigera." The Phascogales are arboreal in their habits, and have short legs and broad feet, with a thumb behind. The A. lanigera has long slender legs, a line long tail with small brush at the tip, and no thumb; it moves by a succession of jumps, and is strictly terrestrial.

Brush-tailed Ant-eaters.

Myrmecobius.

M. fasciatus.

The Western Districts of New South Wales, South Australia, and Western Australia, are inhabited by this curious animal, which approaches the Monotremous section of the Marsupials. The teeth number 52, but they are small, and stand far apart. The long and slender tongue is used to capture ants and their eggs, upon which the animal principally preys.