Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/761

 P H A P H A 729 Pseudochirus, in which the teeth have become somewhat further diminished and the flying membrane has been developed. 5. Dactylopsila, Gray. Upper i. 1 very long, directed forwards. Canine shorter than i. 3, close to it. Pm. 2 minute or absent ; pm. 3 oval, in line with molars. Molars square-sided, forming a straight line, the third as loner as the second. All lower premolars small and deciduous. 1^3 1 l^* 3 1234 Dental formula. i. ^- c.ypm. yrj^i* m - jfjfjf^ x 2 = 32 to 40. Palatal foramen in premaxilla ; palate complete ; bullae small ; no external opening into inferior dental canal. Form normal ; fourth fore-toe very much longer than the others ; tail bushy, rounded. Range. From the Aru Islands through New Guinea to North Queensland. Of this genus two closely-allied species are described. They are beautifully striped down the back with white and grey, and are said to be insectivorous in their habits. 6. Petaurus, Shaw. Upper i. 1 very long, directed downwards. Canine intermediate in length between i. 1 and i. 2 Pm.- the smallest, but yet functional. Molars much rounded, as are those of all the succeeding genera ; m. 3 much smaller than m. 2 Lower premolars, though small, yet permanent and forming an uninterrupted series. 1 9 3 1 123 1234 Dental formula. i. y^ c. y pm. y^ m. 1 2 3 4 x 2 = 40. Palatal foramen entering maxilla ; bulla? inflated ; a small ex ternal opening into the inferior dental canal. Sides of body with a flying membrane stretching from the outside of the tip of the anterior fifth toe to the ankle ; tail bushy ; ears large and nearly naked. Range. From New Ireland to South Australia, but not Tasmania. This genus contains about five species, the largest of which is the Yellow-bellied Flying-Phalanger (P. australis), whose habits are recorded by Mr Gould as follows. &quot; This animal is common in all the brushes of New South Wales, particularly those which stretch along the coast from Port Philip to Moreton Bay. In these vast forests trees of one kind or another are perpetually flowering, and thus offer a never-failing supply of the blossoms upon which it feeds ; the flowers of the various kinds of gums, some of which are of great magnitude, are the principal favourites. Like the rest of the genus, it is nocturnal in its habits, dwelling in holes and in the spouts of the larger branches during the day, and displaying the greatest activity at night while running over the small leafy branches, frequently even to their very extremities, in search of insects and the honey of the newly-opened blossoms. Its structure being ill adapted for terrestrial habits, it seldom descends to the ground except for the purpose of passing to a tree too distant to be FIG. 2. Squirrel Flying-Phalanger (Petaurus sciureus) attained by springing from the one it wishes to leave. The tops of the trees are traversed by this animal with as much ease as the most level ground is by such as are destined for terra firma. If chased or forced to flight it ascends to the highest branch and performs the most enormous leaps, sweeping from tree to tree with wonderful address ; a slight elevation gives its body an impetus which with the expansion of its membrane enables it to pass to a considerable distance, always ascending a little at the extremity of the leap ; by this ascent the animal is prevented from receiving the shock which it would otherwise sustain.&quot; A second species, P. sciureus, in some ways one of the most beautiful of all mammals, has been chosen for the accompanying cut(see fig. 2). 7. Gymnobclideus, M Coy. Like Petaurus in every respect, but without any trace of a flying membrane. Habitat. Victoria. 8. Dromicia, Gray. First upper incisor and canine very long. Pm. 1 and pm. 2 very minute; pm. 3 large. Molars rounded ; their series bowed in wards. Lower canine and first two premolars very small but persistent ; pm. 3 either large and functional or minute. 7-1 4 i s 7 i- 2 - 3 l J *. 2 *.3 1.2.3 _ 00, o/, Dental formula. i. y-g- c. y pm. y^r/ SS m - i~9~3 x Palate incomplete ; bullse very large and inflated. No flying membrane ; claws short, exceeded in length by the pads under them ; toes subequal ; tail thinly haired, prehensile. Five species of Dormouse Phalangers are recorded, ranging from New Guinea to Tasmania. 9. Distocchurus, Peters. Upper teeth much as in Acrolata, but pm. 3 reduced, shorter than molars, and crowded obliquely out of the molar series. Lower teeth also as in Acrobata, but pm. 3 is entirely suppressed. ^, 7 , 7 . 1.2.3 l 1.2.3 1.2.3 _. Dental formula. i. -y^ c. y pm. I -^Q m. - x 2 = 34. Skull as in Acrobata. No flying membrane ; tail distichous ; ears very short ; claws well developed. Habitat. New Guinea only, whence a single species is known. 10. Acrobata, Desm. Upper i. 1 long. Canine proportionally more developed than in any other phalanger, pressed close against last incisor. Premolars all long, narrow, sharply pointed, and two -rooted. Lower pm. 1 minute, but always present ; pm. 2 and pm. 3 functional, shaped like the upper ones. T., 7 , 7 1.2.3 1 1.2.3 1.2.3 0,, Dental formula. i. y-^ c. y pm. y-^. m. yy^ x 2 = 36. Palate incomplete ; bullse low and small ; palatal foramen nearly all in the maxillary ; a well-marked external opening into the in ferior dental canal ; squamosals but little swollen by air-cells. A flying membrane present, stretching from the elbow to the knee, but very narrow in its centre ; tail distichous, probably slightly prehensile ; toes subequal ; claws small and far surpassed by the very remarkable toe-pads, which are broad and ribbed, re sembling those of a gecko, and evidently have a very definite adhesive power. liangc. South and eastern Australia. There is only one species in this genus, the beautiful little Pigmy Flying-Phalanger, not so big as a mouse, which feeds on the honey it can abstract from flowers, and on insects. Its agility and powers of leaping are exceedingly great, and it is said by Mr Gould to make a most charming little pet. (0. T.) PHALAPtIS, a Greek tyrant, who ruled Agrigentum (Acragas) in Sicily for sixteen years (probably between c. 571 and 549 B.C.). He was the son of Laodamas, and his family belonged to the Dorian island of Astypalaea, near Cnidus. As a leading man in the new city (for Agrigentum had been founded by the neighbouring city of Gela only a few years before, 582 B.C.) Phalaris was entrusted with the building of the temple of Zeus Atabyrius on the citadel, and he took advantage of his position to make himself master of the city. Under his rule Agrigentum seems to have attained a considerable pitch of external prosperity. He supplied the city with water, adorned it with fine build ings, and strengthened it with walls. His influence reached to the northern coast of the island, where the people of Himera elected him general, with absolute power, in spite of the warnings of the poet Stesichorus. Eastward on the coast he had fortified posts at Ecnomus and Phalarium, and he is said to have conquered Leontini ; but that he ruled the whole of Sicily, as Suidas asserts, is unlikely. He was at last overthrown, apparently by a combination of the noble families, headed by the rich and distinguished Telemachus, and he was burned, along with his mother XVIII. 92