Page:The mammals of Australia Gould vol 1.djvu/123

 Ogilby.

Short-eared Phalangista.

Phalangista canina, Ogilby in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part iv. p. 191.—Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 85.—Waterh. Nat. Hist, of Mamm., vol. i. p. 296.

This is a powerful animal, fully equalling in size the P. fuliginosa. It is at once distinguished from that, and from every other known species of the genus, by the short and rounded form of its ears. It is much more restricted in its habitat, being, so far as my knowledge extends, exclusively confined to the brushes of New South Wales, particularly those in the neighbourhood of the Hunter, Clarence, and Richmond rivers, and the cedar brushes of the Liverpool range. Its habits and economy closely resemble those of its near ally the P. vulpina, but it is much more fierce in its disposition. Like the P. fuliginosa, it is subject to much variation in its colouring, some specimens being black, while others have a reddish tinge pervading the shoulders and flanks; the prevailing tint is a dark grizzly-grey, similar to that represented in the accompanying Plate.

The following is Mr. Waterhouse's description of this animal, taken from the typical specimen in the Museum of the Zoological Society of London:—

The fur is long, dense, and somewhat woolly; its general hue is grey, being finely pencilled with black and white; on the under surface of the body it is white, but each hair is indistinctly suffused with yellow externally, and is greyish next the skin; on the chest is a narrow rusty-brown mark; ears nearly naked internally; externally they are furnished at the base with fur of the same kind as that on the head, and of a blackish hue, but towards the exterior margin the hairs are whitish; muzzle dusky, and the eye surrounded by the same dark hue; feet blackish; tail very bushy, coloured at the base like the body, the thick bushy hairs on the remaining portion black; apical third of the under surface and the tip of the tail naked; moustaches black; claws pale horn-colour.

The figure is somewhat smaller than the natural size of the animal.