Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/393

 PHALANGER The head is moderate, the face short, the upper lip cleft, and the muffle naked ; limbs equal in length, all five-toed, the anterior with com- pressed and curved claws, the posterior with the inner toe large, nailless, at right angles and opposable to the rest ; the tail long, and gen- erally prehensile ; the pouch well developed ; the eyes large ; the stomach simple, and the caecum largely developed. Of the genera com- posing this family, phascolarctos (De Blainv.) has been noticed under KOALA ; the others are phalangista (Guv.) and petaurus (Shaw). In phalangista the teeth are : incisors --, canines i-i-, premolars fif, true molars fif-; the an- terior upper pair of incisors are larger and long- er than the rest, and the large lower incisors are nearly horizontal ; the small teeth between the incisors and molars are not constant even on both sides of the jaws of the same individ- ual, but in most the true molars are if- ; the tail is prehensile. The genus has been subdi- vided into four subgenera, cuscus, trichosurus, pseudochirus, and dromicia. They are about the size of a domestic cat, and are confined to the islands of the Indian and Australian archi- pelagoes. The ursine phalanger (P. [ 0.] ursina, Temm.) is of a general black color, freckled with yellow, under parts dirty yellow, and iris orange red; it is about 20 in. to the root of the tail, the latter being 19 in.; they live in thick woods; the very fat flesh of this, as of other species, is much relished by the natives, and the teeth are used as ornaments ;. some of the species emit a fetid odor from the anal glands. The vulpine phalanger (P. [T.] vul- pina, Desm.) is of a general grayish color, yel- lowish white below, with the muzzle and chin blackish, the feet tinged with brown, the tail bushy and black except at the base, and an ob- long rusty patch on the chest ; it is as large as a cat, with long, pointed, fox-like ears and nose, and numerous long black moustaches ; in cap- PHALARIS 3T9 Vulpine Phalanger (Phalangista vulpina). tivity it usually sleeps in the daytime, and takes its food between the hands like a squirrel ; the prehensile tail assists it in climbing. Speci- mens of these, and of several other species, have been seen living at the London zoological gardens. The genus petaurus includes the fly- ing phalangers, which have a membrane ex- tended from the fore to the hind legs ; the tail is very long, and well clothed with hair ; they resemble flying squirrels in appearance and habits. The flying phalanger (P. taguanoides, Desm.) has broad, short, and rounded ears, Flying Phalanger (Petaurus taguanoides). densely hairy externally; the membrane ex- tends to the elbow; the tail is cylindrical, longer than the head and body ; fur long and soft ; general color above brownish black, pen- cilled with whitish on the flanks, the under parts impure white, and the tail black ; the length of the body is 20 in., and of the tail 22 in. It inhabits New South Wales, is nocturnal, and feeds on flowers of gum trees, and on insects and honey contained therein ; it is an expert climber, and rarely descends to the ground. Some of the smaller species, as the sugar or Norfolk island flying squirrel (P. sciureus, Desm.), are hunted for their fur, which is used for the same purposes as chinchilla. In flying powers they are equal to the flying squirrels. For other genera and species, and full details, see vol. i. of Waterhouse's " Nat- ural History of the Mammalia." PHALARIS, tyrant of Agrigentum in Sicily, from about 570 to about 555 B. 0. He was a native of Agrigentum, or, less probably, of Asty- palsea in the ^Egean sea. The means by which he acquired the supreme power are doubtful, one legend attributing his elevation to a strat- agem by which he forcibly gained control of the city ; others to a sudden usurpation, like a modern coup d'etat, made while he held one of the higher offices. The early part of his reign was mild, but he afterward pursued a career of cruelty and oppression. It is related that Pe- rillus, an Athenian artist, constructed for him a brazen bull in which his victims were roasted, and the first sufferer by the machine was the maker himself. His misgovernment at last caused a popular outbreak, in which he was stoned to death. The "Epistles of Phalaris," first published at Venice in 1498, were proved by Bentley to be spurious.