aaa aaa

PHALANGISTA COOKLY, Desm.

Cook’s Phalangista.

Phalangista Cookit, Desm. Nouv. Dict. d’ Hist. Nat., tom. xxv. p. 478.—Temm. Mon. de Mamm., tom. i. p.  .—
Gray, Ann. Nat. Hist. new ser. 1838, vol. i. p. 107.
Banksu, Gray, Ann. Nat. Hist. new ser. 1838, vol. i. p. 107.
, Phalanger de Cook, Cuv. Regn. Anim. ed. 1817, tom. i. p. 179; ed. 1829, tom. i. p. 183.
‘ —_—_— Bougainville, Cuv. Regn. Anim. ed. 1829, tom. i. p. 183.
+ Phalangista Bougainvillu, Wagn. in Schreb. Saug. 111, 112. Heft, p. 82.
yf New Holland Opossum, Penn. Hist. of Quad., vol. ii. p. 301.
White-tailed Opossum, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. i. p. 504.
Phalangista (Pseudochirus) Cooku, Waterh. Nat. Hist. of Mamm., vol. i. p. 299.—Gunn in Proc. of Roy. Soc.
Van Diem. Land, vol. i. p. 84.
Balantia Cooku, Kuhl, Beitr. 63.
Hepoona Cookii, Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 84.

Ring-tailed Opossum of the Colonists.

 

 

A eurstion has been raised by some modern mammalogists, whether the Ring-tailed Opossum of New
. I ve “170 y > PIIS 2 eae S 2 . eye
South Wales, characterized by the rusty-red hue of its colouring, and the animal of the same form inhabiting
Van Diemen’s Land, which is principally of a sooty blackness, are distinct species, or merely varieties of
one and the same animal. Mr. Waterhouse considers them to be identical: Mr. Ogilby, on the other hand,
is of opinion that they are not, and has given the name of vverrina to the island or darker-coloured specimens,
retaining that of Cook: for the animal from New South Wales: now, it may be asked, what is the opinion
of one who has seen these animals in a state of nature? In reply, I may say, that I have hunted them upon
very many occasions in both countries, and that I invariably found the black specimens to be confined to
Van Diemen’s Land, and the red ones to New South Wales; besides which, I observed that the island
examples were of a larger size and were always dressed in a softer and longer fur.

My figure of Phalangista Cooki represents the animal as it generally appears in the brushes of New
South Wales, while that of P. everrina as correctly portrays the one killed in Van Diemen’s Land. It will

 

: be seen that, at least for the present, I have regarded them as distinct.
The Phalangista Cooki is strictly nocturnal in its habits, sleeping in the hollow spouts and holes of the
larger trees during the day and leaving its retreat on the approach of darkness, sometimes descending to

the ground, but more frequently ascending to the smaller branches to feed upon the flowers and tender

shoots of the Hucalypte.
. Its flesh is delicate, juicy, and well-tasted, and is much prized by the aborigines.

" I have spoken of the brushes of New South Wales as being the part of the country inhabited by this
\ animal; it is just possible that it may also be found on the plains and Angophora flats between the lower
. ’ but it must not be confounded with a smaller and more woolly species which is there

mountain ranges ;
found, the Phalangista laniginosa, a figure and description of which will be found in its proper place in this

 

| i;
i)
1)
1

o>

work.
The fur is dense and somewhat harsh to the touch ;
in some specimens 1s dark brown, grizzled with grey ; in others a greyer hue prevails; face, cheeks, sides of
limbs and the under surface of the basal portion of the tail, rich

the neck and body, the outer surface of the
deep rust-red ; sides of the muzzle blackish ; eyes surrounded by a series of black hairs ; chin, under surface
of the body and inner sides of the limbs tawny, increasing to rufous in some specimens ; in some examples

1 half of the tail is white, in others the apical third, and in others it is of nearly the same hue as

its colour on the upper surface of the body and tail

sFoieZo
ewe.

~

¥. BBE: =

the apic
the basal portion, but this latter state rarely occurs.
The Plate represents the sexes somewhat under the size of life.

oo

—

IS OO0S

ogo

=

SEVVGes