Page:The mammals of Australia Gould vol 1.djvu/112

 both of the fore and hind feet (if we except the innermost one of the latter), are provided with large, curved, very deep, and compressed claws. The innermost toe of the hind foot is large, nail-less, assumes the form of a thumb, and is used as such, being opposed to the toes in grasping, as is the thumb of the human hand to the fingers. The head is rather large, the muzzle short and nearly naked both on the sides and on the upper surface, these parts being merely and rather sparingly clothed with small velvet-like hairs; the part thus sparingly clothed is most extended on the upper surface of the muzzle, here reaching back about 1½ inch from the tip of the nose, while at the sides only ½ an inch or rather more of the muzzle is destitute of the ordinary fur. The ears are of moderate size and pointed, and entirely hidden by the very long hairs with which they are clothed, these latter being for the most part about 2 inches in length; on the inner side of the ears the hairs are white, and on the outer side of the same grey hue as those of the head, excepting those which spring from the anterior margin of the ear, which are chiefly black. The eyes are rather large, and, like those of other Marsupial animals (with the exception of the Kangaroos), are not protected by eyelashes; there are, however, a few long bristly hairs springing from immediately above the eye; the hairs of the moustaches are small and scanty. The fur is tolerably long, dense, of a wool-like quality, and rather soft to the touch; its general hue ashy grey somewhat suffused with brown,—a tint produced by the hairs being brown before, and whitish at the point. The hinder part of the back is of a dirty yellowish white hue. The under parts of the head and body, as well as the inner side of the fore legs and the posterior part of the hind legs, are white, but not very pure; the hairs covering the feet have the visible portions whitish, but they are dusky brown at the root, and a slight pencilling of this darker hue is generally observable on the toes. The inner side of the hind legs is of a brownish rust-colour. The muffle is naked, and, like the naked soles of the feet, appears to have been black in the living animal.

"A very young Koala in the Museum of the Zoological Society presents some features worthy of notice. Instead of having the woolly fur of the adult, it is clothed with hairs which are moderately soft, short, and closely applied to the skin; on the mesial line of the back a little behind the shoulders, the hairs radiate, and running forwards over the neck meet those of the head having an opposite direction, and form a kind of crest at the line of junction; on the rump there is another of these centres from which the hairs radiate. The ears, which are much pointed and have the posterior edge emarginated, are clothed with hairs of about a quarter of an inch in length. Its colouring is the same as in the adult."

One of the accompanying Plates represents the head of the animal, of the size of life; the other, a reduced figure of a female and young.