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DASYURUS GEOFFROYI
ol » Gould.
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Geoffroy’s Dasyurus.
° reoffroyt, Gould in Proc. of Z Soc., part viii K ify th OE : BE
Dasyurus Geoff oy Proc o Zool. Soc., part viii. p. 151.—Waterh. Nat. Lib. Marsupialia, p. 132.—Ib.,
Nat. Hist. Mamm., vol. i. p. 437.—Cat. of Mamm. in Brit. Mus., p. 98. | |
eee
No other species of the present genus is so widely distributed over the continent of Australia as the Dasy-
urus Geoffroy?, which inhabits the whole of the southern portion of the country from Moreton Bay on the east
fo Swan River on the west. Unlike the D. Viverrinus and D. maculatus which frequent the country lying
between the mountain ranges and the sea, the present animal appears to be exclusively confined to the
regions on the interior side of the hills, the specimens I have seen having been procured on the Liverpool
2 Plains in New South Wales, the Murray Scrub in South Australia, and beyond the ranges of Swan River
oa on the western coast. I have stated of the other members of this genus that they are nocturnal in their
4 habits, but that the present is not strictly so is shown by my having encountered one at midday while silently
ee wandering in the Murray Scrub in South Australia, which, squirrel-like, ran up to the topmost branches of |
Ze, ane ; ; ee i
a a neighbouring gum-tree, whence I immediately dislodged it with my gun in order to obtain a knowledge
fs of the species.
"i I believe that the Dasyurus Geoffroy’ is never subject to those variations of colour so conspicuous in
La D. Viverrinus.
az Its brown tail clothed with much shorter hairs than in any of its congeners is a character by which it may
2 at all times be distinguished from either of them.
a [have named this species in honour of M. Geoffroy de St. Hilaire, the eminent French naturalist, in token
< of respect for his valuable labours in the field of science.
e “The fur is moderately long, rather soft, and on the upper part of the body of greyish hue, but much
suffused with yellow, and pencilled with black; and these parts moreover, as well as the sides of the body, |
. a ° 4 ° Tv |
are adorned with numerous irregular white spots; the head has a few small white spots only, and is often |
of a greyer hue than other parts, but the muzzle is somewhat tinted with brownish, and in front os dine eye Wo
: Bey ta alll epee ' ackis rown hairs; inter-
is a dusky patch; the ears are dusky brown and clothed externally with mmute blackish brown uae ; inte
: ' 2 : PT TSTaNTs Soin: ar apex, anc
nally with longish pencilled black and grey hairs, at or near the anterior margin ; but oe i apex,
. . . ae fea - parts of the body are white, or very
on the hinder parts, the hairs are miuute and brownish; the under parts of t i ss ,
> . ° : a ee alter i are nearly white, or greyis
nearly so; the fore feet are brownish, sometimes brownish white; the hind feet : | a J : , ae
: ; TE : ae NCI ith black, the ends of the hz
suffused with yellow; the tail is yellowish at the base, but much pencilled es : : iy abGueonecinen
: r : shoe ae ards the tip of the tail, and usually a -t
being of that colour; the black gradually increases towards the tip 0 all,
is entirely black.”
The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size. e
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