‘bellum
y lobes
oint of

of the

** Does
minent
ith the
uliarity
h their
unlike
places
known

there
ture of
hunger
carcely
ps into
; warm
th the

‘ed the

ne, but
» three

) these

roos, I
plum ;
which
ity in
years,
ir, and
upials,
juently

, these

ynitho-

n Aus-

EN ER OU; © ar OrN: Xvi

tralia—the south-eastern portions of the continent and Van Diemen’s Land being the localities to which it is

confined.

The spiny Echidna hystriv has not yet been found to the northward of Moreton Bay on the east coast,
and, except in New South Wales and the islands in Bass’s Straits, it is very rare—so rare indeed, that I
have never seen a specimen from South Australia; yet in all probability it will be found there, since Mr.

Gilbert obtained an example at Swan River; this individual, however, did not come under my notice, and I

am therefore unable to say if it were a true L. hystrix, or a western representative of that species.

The more hairy Hchidna setosa is confined to Van Diemen’s Land; but it is questionable whether it be
really distinct from /. hystrix ; the more southern position and colder climate of that island may have had

the effect of giving it a warmer coat, whiter spines, and of altering its general appearance.

The single species representing the genus A/yrmecobius (M. fasciatus) appears to be more plentiful in the
Swan River Settlement than elsewhere; it nevertheless occurs in the Murray Scrub and other parts of South
Australia, and from thence to the western coast it probably inhabits every locality suited to its habits and

mode of life.

 

Like the Myrmecobius, the little honey-lapping Tarspes rostratus stands quite alone—and a truly singular
creature it is: to give the area over which it ranges is impossible, as we know far too little of these dimi-
nutive mammals to come to any positive conclusion on this point; at present, the neighbourhood of King

George’s Sound is one of the localities in which it has been seen in a state of nature.

Isolated in form and differing in the structure of its feet from every other known quadruped is the Che-
ropus, an animal which frequents the hard grounds of the interior, over which it is dispersed from New
South Wales to Western Australia. The specific term of ecaudatus, first applied to this animal in conse-
quence of the specimen characterized being destitute of the caudal appendage, must now sink into a synonym,
that organ being as well developed in this as in any other of the smaller quadrupeds, the Peramedes for

instance, to which this singular animal is somewhat allied.

The root-feeding Dalgyte, or Peragalea lagotis, leads us still nearer to the genus Perameles: the fauna of
Western Australia is greatly enriched by the addition of this beautiful species. I believe that South Aus-
tralia may also lay claim to it; for I have seen a tail, said to have been obtained on the south coast, which
greatly resembled that of the Swan River Peragalea; but it may have pertained to an allied animal with

which we are not yet acquainted.

The members of the restricted genus Perameles are numerous in species, and universally dispersed over
the whole of Australia and Van Diemen’s Land; they also extend in a northerly direction to New Guinea
and the adjacent islands. Of this genus there are two well-marked divisions: one distinguished by bands on
their backs or crescentic markings across their rumps and by their diminutive tails, the other by a uniformity

in their colouring. The species of the former division inhabit the hot stony ridg

es bordering the open

plains ; those of the latter the more humid forests, among grass and other dense vegetation. Figures of