APPENDIX C.
CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE MAMMALIA OF AUSTRALIA, WITH NOTES ON SOME RECENTLY DISCOVERED SPECIES, BY J.E. GRAY, F.R.S., ETC. ETC., IN A LETTER ADDRESSED TO THE AUTHOR.
British Museum, 10th July 1841.
MY DEAR SIR,
The very little attention which has hitherto been paid to the distribution of the animals of Australia, and the very incorrect manner in which the habitats of the different species are given in collections and systematic works, have induced me to send you, with the description of the new species recently brought from that country, a table showing at one view the distribution of the different species which have hitherto been recorded as found in Australia, as far as the materials at my disposal will allow me.
I am the more induced to do so as I believe I have now under my care the richest collection of the animals of this country in any Museum; as, besides the specimens which we have been collecting from different quarters, with the kind assistance of Mr. Ronald Gunn, Mr. Harvey, and yourself, we have just purchased a complete series of all the species and varieties brought by Mr. Gould from different parts of this Continent; and these specimens were all marked with the habitat immediately after they were procured.
The first column in the following table indicates the species found in New South Wales, and the east part of the Continent; the number in the column specifying the particular habitats where the species has been observed,
1. Sydney, and its neighbourhood.
2. The Rivers Hunter and Maitland, and Goulburn Plains.
3. Liverpool Plains.
4. Liverpool Range.
5. The Namoi and Mokai Rivers.
6. Bong-Bong.
7. Yarrundi.
8. Interior (generally).
9. Australian Alps.
10. Murrumbidgee River.
11. Moreton Bay.
12. Clarence River.
13. Port Phillip.
14. Bathurst.
15. Interior of Australia Felix.
16. Murray River.
17. Bayunga River.
18. Darling River.
19. Glenelg River.
20. Port Stevens Mountains.
21. Port Macquarie.
The second column refers to South Australia, and the numbers in it to:
1. Adelaide and its vicinity.
2. Kangaroo Island.
3. The South Coast.
4. Port Lincoln.
5. Murray River.
The third column refers to Western Australia, as:
1. Perth.
2. King George's Sound.
3. Northam.
4. Canning River.
5. Rottnest and Garden Islands.
The fourth column refers to the North-west Coast of Australia:
1. Hanover Bay.
2. Islands in Shark Bay.
3. Dirk Hatterick's Bay.
4. Generally, the peculiar locality not being marked.
The fifth column to the North Coast:
1. Port Essington.
The sixth column to the Island of Van Diemen's Land, the numbers to:
1. Hobart Town.
2. Circular Head.
3. Bass Strait and King's Island.
4. New Norfolk.
5. Kangaroo Point.
6. Tasman's Peninsula.
7. Launceston.
8. Acteon Island.
9. Mount Wellington.
The seventh column to Norfolk Island, marked Number 1.
PRIMATES. Family Vespertilionidae.
1. Rhinolophus megaphyllus Gray. 1:10.
2. Nyctophilus geoffroyii Leach ? 1:1 1:7 3:1 6:1.
Barbastellus pacificus Gray.
Nyctinomus ---- ? Bennett.
Var. major 3:1.
Scotophilus.
* Wings and interfemoral membranes with lines of hairs.
3. Scotophilus morio, new species.
4. S. gouldii, new species. 1:2 6:7.
5. S. australis, new species. 1:1 1:4 2:1 3:4 6:1.
** Wings nearly bald.
6. S. pumilus, new species. 1:7.
7. Molossus australis 5:1.
8. Pteropus poliocephalus Temm. 1:11 1:12.
Pt. edwardsii G. Bennett not Desm.
FERAE. Family Felidae.
9. Canis familiaris australasiae. 1:1 2:1 ?
Canis Dingo Blumenb.
Family Phocidae.
10. Otaria peronii. 1:1 ?
Family Didelphidae.
11. Thylacinus cynocephalus Fischer 6:2.
Didelphis cynocephalus Harris.
12. Diabolus ursinus 6:1 6:2.
Didelphis ursina Harris.
Sarcophilus ursinus F. Cuv.
Dasyurus.
* Thumb small, clawless.
13. D. maculatus 6:1 6:2.
Viverra maculata Shaw.
Dasyurus macrurus Geoff.
14. D. geoffroyii Gould 1:3.
** Thumb none.
15. Dasyurus viverrinus Geoff. 1:1 1:2 1:3 6:1 6:2.
Didelphis viverrina Shaw. 1:6.
Var. Das. maugei Geoff.
Phascogale Temm.
* Tail end tufted.
16. Ph. penicillata Temm. 1:2 1:11 2:1.
Didelphis penicillata Shaw 1:3.
Dasyurus tafa Geoff.
** Tail conical, end pencilled.
17. Ph. minima Temm. 6:3.
Dasyurus minimus Geoff.
Ph. swainsonii Waterh.
18. Ph. affinis, new species. 6:6.
19. Ph. rufogaster, new species. 2:1.
20. Ph. flavipes Waterh. 1:2 1:3.
21. Ph. murina Waterh. 1:2 3:4.
22. Ph. leucogaster, new species 3:1.
23. Myrmecobius fasciatus Waterh. 3:1.
24. ---- ---- ? rufus Mitchell.
Red shrew mouse G. Bennett 1:8 ?
Perameles.
a Tail tapering.
* Rump banded.
25. Per. gunnii Gray 6:1.
26. Per. fasciata new species 1:3 2:1.
** Hair grizzled, ears acute, long.
27. Per. nasuta Geoff. 1:1.
P. aurita Mus Par.
P. bougainvillii Quoy.
*** Hair grizzled, ears rounded. 3:2.
28. Per. fusciventer, new species.
29. Per. obesula Geoff. 1:1 ? 3:1 6:4 6:5.
Didelphis obesula Shaw.
b. Hair soft, tail end tufted, ears very long, Paragalia.
30. Per. lagotis Reid 3:3.
31. Choeropus ecaudatus Ogilby 1:16.
Perameles ecaudatus Ogilby.
32. Phalangista vulpina Desm. 1:7 1:4 2:2 3:2 3:3 5:1 6:1.
Didelphis vulpina Shaw 1:5 1:10.
Didelphis lemurina Shaw 1:11.
Didelphis peregrina Bodd.
Var. 1. 3:1.
Var. 2. 1:5.
33. Phal. fuliginosa Ogilby 6:2.
Var. grisea.
34. Phal. xanthopus Ogilby 1:19.
35. Phal. canina Ogilby 1:2.
36. Phal. cuvieri Gray 1:8 ?
Ph. cookii Cuvier.
Petaurus cookii F. Cuv.
37. Dromicia nana 6:1.
Phalangista nana Geoff.
Phal. gliriformis Bell.
38. Hepoona cookii 1:1 1:3 1:4 3:1 3:2 6:1.
Phalangista cookii Gray 1:7.
Phalangista banksii Gray.
Balantia cookii Kuhl.
Phalangista viverrina Ogilby.
39. Petaurista taguanoides Desm. 1:1 1:21.
40. Petaurista leucogaster 1:16.
Petaurus leucogaster Mitchell.
41. Petaurus macrurus Geoff. 1:8 1:14.
Didelphis macrura Shaw.
42. Petaurus flaviventer Desm. 1:3.
43. Petaurus breviceps 1:8.
Belideus breviceps Waterh.
44. Petaurus sciureus Desm. 1:1 1:2 7:1.
Didelphis sciurea Shaw. 1:3 1:13.
45. Petaurus peronii Desm. ? 1:2.
46. Acrobates pygmaeus Desm. 1:8.
Didelphis pygmaea Shaw.
Macropus.
* Tail end simple; fur one-coloured.
47. Mac. major Shaw. 1:1 1:4 2:1 6:1 6:9.
Macropus giganteus Shaw. 1:8 1:15.
Halmaturus labiatus Geoff.
Halmaturus rufogriseus Lesson ?
Var. Macropus albus Gray.
48. Mac. laniger Lesson 1:5 1:10 2:15.
Kangurus rufus Lesson 1:21 1:19.
49. Mac. fuliginosus Lesson 2:2.
** Tail end simple, back coloured.
50. Mac. lunatus Gould 3:1.
*** Tail end clawed. (Onychogalea.)
51. Mac. frenatus Gould 1:3 1:8.
52. Mac. unguifer Gould 4:1.
Halmaturus.
* Tail long, end slightly tufted.
53. Hal. parryii Gray 1:20.
Macropus parryii Bennett 1:3.
Var. pallida Gray.
54. Hal. manicatus Gould 3:1.
Hal. irma Jourdan.
** Tail simple, back one-coloured.
55. Hal. bennettii Waterh. 4:1.
Hal. ualabatus Gray 4:2 4:3.
Halm. fruticus Ogilby 4:5 4:7.
56. Hal. ualabatus Lesson 1:2.
Halm. lessonii Gray.
57. Hal. elegans 1:6 1:15.
Mac. elegans Lambert.
Hal. ruficollis Lesson, Gould.
58. Hal. billardieri Lesson 6:1 6:2.
Hal. tasmanii Gray 6:3 6:7.
Hal. rufiventer Ogilby.
59. Hal. eugenii Gray 1:1 1:2 2:1 ?
Hal. thetis Lesson.
Kangurus eugenii Desm.
60. Hal. brachyurus Quoy 3:2.
Hal. thylogale brevicaudatus Gray
*** Tail simple, back streaked.
61. Hal. dorsalis Gray 1:8 1:5 1:17 1:3.
62. Hal. parma Gould 1:1.
63. Hal. derbianus Gray 2:2.
Var. obscurior 3:5.
64. Hal. ? banksianus Lesson 1:1 ?
65. Hal. fasciatus Goldf. 4:2.
Kangurus fasciatus Lesson.
Petrogale.
* Tail conical, slightly tufted.
66. P. robusta Gould 1:4 1:8.
** Tail end tufted.
67. P. brachyotis Gould 4:1.
68. P. penicillata Gray 1:3 1:21.
Heteropus albogularis Jourdan.
69. P. lateralis Gould 3:1.
70. Hypsiprymnus minor Cuv. 1:1 6:1.
Macropus minor Shaw.
Hyps. myosurus Ogilby.
71. Hyps. ? lesueurii Quoy 4:3.
72. Hyps. gilbertii Gould 3:2.
73. Lagorchestes leporoides Gould 1:3 1:5.
Bettongia Gray.
* Tail end blackish.
74. Bett. setosa Gray 1:3 1:5.
Hypsiprymnus setosus Ogilby.
Hyp. murinus Ogilby.
Var. Bett. penicillata Gray.
75. Bett. ogilbii Gould 3:1.
** Tail end brown, white tipped.
76. Bett. whitei Gould 1:1.
Hypsiprymnus whitei Quoy.
H. formosus Ogilby.
Hyp. phillipii Ogilby.
77. Bett. grayii 2:4.
Hyp. grayii Gould.
*** Tail grey, ears black.
78. B. rufescens Gray 1:1.
Bett. melanotis Ogilby.
79. Phascolarctos fuscus Desm. 1:1 1:8.
Ph. cinereus Fischer.
Lipurus cinereus Goldf.
80. Phascolomys ursinus 1:8 2:1 6:1 6:2.
Didelphis ursina Shaw 1:15 6:3.
Wombatus fossor Geoff.
Phasc. fuscus Desm.
Amblotis fossor Illiger.
Order GLIRES. Family Muridae.
81. Hydromys chrysogaster Geoff. 1:3 1:11 3:1 6:1 6:2 6:8.
Hyd. leucogaster Geoff.
82. Pseudomys australis Gray 1:3.
83. Mus setifer Horsf. 6:1.
84. Mus lutreola new species 1:2 2:1 6:5 6:3.
85. Mus greyii new species 2:1.
86. Mus adelaidensis new species 2:1.
87. Mus ? platurus Mitchell 1:18.
88. Mus ? hovellii Mitchell 1:17.
89. Hapalotis albipes Licht. 1:3 1:9 ?
Conilurus destructor Ogilby 1:18.
90. Hapalotis mitchellii 1:16.
Dipus mitchellii Ogilby.
91. Hapalotis gouldii new species 3:1.
Order UNGULATA. Family Dasypidae.
92. Echidna aculeata 1:4 1:8.
Myrmecophaga aculeata Shaw.
Tachyglossus aculeatus Illiger.
Echidna hystrix Cuv.
93. Echidna setosa 6:1 6:2.
Ornithorhynchus hystryx var. Home.
Tachyglossus setosus Illiger.
94. Platypus anatinus Shaw 1:1 6:4.
Ornithorhynchus paradoxus Blum.
Orn. rufus and O. fuscus Leach.
O. crispus and elvis Macgillivray.
O. brevirostris Ogilby.
Order CETAE.
95. Delphinorhynchus pernetttensis 5:1.
96. Balaena physalis 4:1.
Total of species found in each country 1:60 2:18 3:20 4:6 5:3 6:22 7:1.
Total of species peculiar to each country 1:45 2:6 3:12 4:6 5:2 6:11 7:0.
Of these species there are:
Non-Marsupial:
Primates 8.
Ferae 2.
Cetae 2.
Glires 11.
Total 23 Marsupial (Didelphidae) 71.
Monotrematous 3.
Total 97.
This list shows the progress which has taken place in the knowledge of the Australian animals; for only a few years ago it was generally stated that the Australian dog was the only non-Marsupial animal found on the continent.
The following species appear to be new to science.
Number 1. Rhinolophus megaphyllus, Gray Proceedings of the Zoological Society 1834 52.
Brown, end of the hairs of the back with small, and on the lower side of the body with longer, grey tips. Ears with two hairy lines on each side. Wings with little tufts of short hairs near the side of the body beneath. (Nose leaf destroyed.) Body, 2 inches 3-12; fore-arm, 1 11-12; tail 11-12; fore-legs, 9-12; ears, 7-12.
Number 2. Scotophilus morio, Gray.
Back uniform, brownish black, scarcely paler beneath; cheeks nearly black; underside of wings, and interfemoral membrane with lines of hairs; heel bone elongated, slender; ears moderate rounded; tragus oblong blunt; fore-arm bone, 1 10-12; shin bone, 9-12 of an inch.
Number 4. Scotophilus gouldii, Gray.
Blackish, hinder half of the back brownish; sides and abdomen brownish ash; ears rather large, broad; tragus half ovate; underside of the wings and interfemoral membrane with lines of hairs.
Var. 1. Hinder part of the back greyish; sides of the abdomen grey. Inhabits Australasia, Mr. Gould.
Number 5. Scotophilus australis, Gray.
Back blackish; tips of the hairs rather browner; beneath rather paler on the sides of the abdomen; ears small; tragus oval lanceolate, rather crescent-shaped; wings, with sixteen or eighteen oblique cross lines of hairs under each fore-arm, and scattered hairs on the sides of the body; fore-arm, bone, 1 5-12; shin bone, 15-24. Var. rather larger fore-arm bone, 1 7-12; shin bone, 17-24.
Number 6. Scotophilus pumilus, Gray.
Grey brown, base of the fur blackish, beneath paler; cheeks blackish; ears small, rather thin, longer than the fur; tragus elongate, half as long as the ears, rounded at the end; wings nearly bald, except near the arm-pit; interfemoral membrane hairy at the base; heel-bone elongate, two-thirds the length of the margin of the interfemoral membrane. Head and body, 1 2-12; tail 11-12; fore-arm bone, 1 2-12.
This species, Mr. Gould notes, flies quick and low over water.
Number 7. Molossus australis. See Gray, Magazine of Zoology and Botany volume 2 501.
Number 15. Dasyurus viverrinus.
Mr. Gould has observed that the black and yellowish varieties are sometimes found together in the same litter. There is an intermediate variety, blackish, with olive tips to the hairs. Dr. Shaw's specific name should be retained.
Number 18. Phascogale affinis, Gray.
Above brown, grizelled with yellowish-brown tips to the hairs; beneath grey brown; under fur lead colour; tail short. Male darker; length of body and head 6 1/2; tail 4 1/2. Female, length of the body and head 4 1/2; tail 2 3/4 inches. Inhabits Tasman's Peninsula, Mr. Gould.
This may be the same as P. minima of Geoffroy, but the tail is longer for its size.
Number 19. Phascogale rufogaster, Gray.
Head grey; back and sides brown, with longer black hairs; sides of the belly and feet bright rufous; lips and chin whitish; under fur lead colour; tail end blackish-brown, slightly pencilled. Body and head, 4; tail, 2 inches. Inhabits South Australia, Mr. Gould.
Number 22. Phascogale leucogaster, Gray.
Head and shoulders grey, behind rather browner, with scattered longer black-tipped hairs; chin and beneath pure white; feet brownish grey. Body and head, 4; tail, 2 1/2 inches.
Inhabits Western Australia, banks of the Canning River, April 1839, Mr. Gould.
More specimens and further observations may prove these to be only local varieties of one species; but the specimens we have from the same localities are similar in character, which is not the case with the different specimens of Hepoona.
Number 26. Perameles fasciata, Gray.
Grey brown, rump with three black bands; tail white, with a black streak along the upper side. Inhabits Liverpool Plains and South Australia; smaller than P. gunnii.
Number 28. Perameles fusciventer, Gray.
Brown, yellow grizelled; tail above blackish, beneath grey; head short, conical; belly grey brown, with broad rufous channelled hairs. This species is like P. obesula in colour, but the head is shorter, and the belly of that species is white, with white bristles.
Number 37. Dromicia nana.
The dentition and the peculiar form and character of the tail of this species at once point out that it should constitute a distinct genus from the other Phalangers, from which it differs in many of its habits.
Number 38. Hepoona cookii.
Specimens from the same locality differ from one another in the extent of the white on the tail, in the darkness of the colour of the fur, and in the limbs and sides of the body being of the colour of the back, or more or less rufous. There are either five or six species, or only one.
Number 39.
I have retained the name of Petaurista for the flying Phalangers with hairy ears, as Dr. Shaw's Didelphis petaurus is evidently the same as P. flaviventer, and has naked ears, like the other species, and his name Petaurus should be used rather than Mr. Waterhouse's Belideus for this genus.
Number 40.
Petaurista leucogaster, may only be a variety of P. taguanoides.
Number 42. Petaurus macrourus.
This species is only known from the figures of Dr. Shaw. They have a specimen of a young Petaurista taguanoides, under this name, in the Paris Museum.
Number 43. Petaurus breviceps.
This is probably the species called P. peronii in Mr. G. Bennett's catalogue of the Australian Museum. It may also be M. Desmarest's; if this is so, the latter name will have to be adopted, and the one first used erased from the list.
Number 47.
The Macropi with hairy muffles are found in grassy places, while the Halmaturi are confined to the scrubs; and the Petrogalae, or Rock-Kangaroos, to the rocky districts; the latter, like Bettongia, sit with their tail between the legs. Mr. Gould informs me the animals of the latter genus also use their tails for the purpose of carrying the grass to their nests. The tree Kangaroos of New Guinea have a tail somewhat like a squirrel. These differences of habit show the propriety of dividing this group of animals into genera.
Number 48. Macropus laniger.
This name must be rejected as the animal is not wool-bearing. The skin in the Paris Museum is made up with the skin of a sheep. M. Desmarest's description of the female M. rufogriseus in the New Dictionary, very nearly agrees with this species, but Mr. Gould is inclined to consider the specimen he was shown for that species in the Paris Museum was M. major.
Number 57. Halmaturus elegans.
The description of Mr. Lambert is so short that it has hitherto been considered impossible to determine it with accuracy; but on comparing the coloured plate which is bound up with Sir Joseph Banks' copy of the volume of the Transactions containing the paper, now in the Museum Library, with the specimens of kangaroos in the Museum collection, I have very little doubt of its being intended for one which Mr. Gould considers as identical with M. ruficollis of M. Desmarest. M. Desmarest's animal is said to come from King's Island, in Bass Strait, while Mr. Gould's animal, like the one Mr. Lambert described, is from New South Wales. Mr. Gunn remarks that H. billardieri is common in the locality indicated by M. Desmarest.
Number 67. Petrogale brachyotis.
This species was discovered by Captain G. Grey, in his expedition, and the specimens he collected he gave to Mr. Gould, who described them, and is now about to figure them in his forthcoming monograph of the species of kangaroos: a work which will be as far superior to any other published on Mammalia in beauty of design and accuracy in the execution of the plates as his work on Birds has been to any that has hitherto appeared either in England or on the Continent. The specimens are now in the collection of the British Museum.
Number 84. Mus lutreola.
Back black and yellowish grizelled, with longer black hairs; sides yellowish grey, beneath grey lead colour, under fur lead colour; ears with scattered short adpressed hairs; whiskers black; front teeth yellow; tail with short black adpressed bristles; length of body and head 7, tail 4, hind-feet 1 1-4 inches. The water-rat of the South Australian Colonist. Inhabits South Australia, River Torrens, Bass Strait, New South Wales; Musquito Islands and Macdonald's River, Van Diemen's Land, Tasman's Peninsula. J. Gould, Esquire.
Number 85. Mus greyii, Gray.
Fur brown, with close long slender pale-tipped black hairs; sides yellowish-brown; throat and beneath yellowish; feet whiteish; ears nearly naked, with close-pressed short greyish hairs; tail with close-pressed brown hairs. Variety; belly rather more greyish-white. Inhabits South Australia, June. Length, body and head 6, tail 4 3/4, hind-feet 1 1/12 of an inch.
Number 86. Mus adelaidensis.
Fur soft, brown, with scattered rather longer black tipped hairs, beneath pale grey brown; the under fur lead coloured; whiskers black; ears moderate, covered with short close-pressed hairs; tail elongate, brown; cutting teeth pale yellow, compressed; body and head 3, tail 3 inches, hind-feet 8-12. Inhabits South Australia. J. Gould, Esquire.
In examining the Geographical distribution of the Genera, as exhibited in the foregoing table, as far as our present knowledge of these animals extends we may state that the genera Choeropus, Acrobates, Petaurista, Lagorchestes, Phascolarctos, Hapalotis, and Pseudomys, are peculiar to New South Wales. The genus Petaurus is also found in New South Wales, but not in the Island of Van Diemen's Land and the rest of the continent, but one of the species living there is also said to be an inhabitant of Norfolk Island, where it may probably have been introduced.
The species of the genera Petrogale and Bettongia are common to New South Wales, South Australia, and the North-west Coast; but they are not found in Van Diemen's Land, and the genus Myrmecobius appears to be peculiar to Western Australia, for it is not by any means certain that the red shrew-mouse discovered in Australia Felix by Sir T. Mitchell belongs to this genus.
The Genera Thylacinus, Diabolus, and Dromicia, are peculiar to Van Diemen's Land.
The species of the genera Dasyurus and Perameles are very abundant in Van Diemen's Land, but they have also representatives which are found in New Holland.
The species of the genera Nyctophilus, Phalangista, Hepoona, Phascogale, Macropus, Halmaturus, Hypsiprymnus, and Hydromys, appear to be common to all parts of the continent, and also to Van Diemen's Land.
The genera Echidna and Ornithorhynchus are found in New Holland and Van Diemen's Land, but I have not heard of their having been discovered in the Western or Southern parts of the continent of Australia.
There are some of the genera of the non-Marsupial animals, as Rhinolophus and Pteropus, which are common to various parts of Australia and the different parts of the Old World, and others, as Canis, Mus, Scotophilus, and Molossus, which are common to it and to both Hemispheres. Two Marsupial genera, Halmaturus and Perameles, have species found in New Guinea, but most probably, when they have been more carefully examined, they will be found to form a peculiar genus, allied to the Australian animals, as is the case with the tree-kangaroos (Dendrolegus) and the Phalangers (Cuscus) of that country. We have a specimen of the Halmaturus in the British Museum, from the Leyden collection, but like many of the specimens in that collection, where the zoological specimens are made subservient to the anatomical predilections of the conservator, it has no skull, and false claws, which renders it impossible for me to define its characters. The tail has rings of scales under the hair, but this is also the case with most Halmaturi.
Before proceeding to the consideration of the distribution of the species, over the different districts of Australasia, it may be remarked that this is a subject surrounded with considerable difficulty, as different naturalists do not always apply the same test to determine the distinction of the species, some considering the differences found in the specimens from different localities, as merely local varieties, and others regarding them as distinct; and others again declaring that several specimens, which cabinet naturalists are in the habit of regarding as only accidental varieties from the examination of the skins, are quite distinct when they are observed alive in their native habitat. In the preceding list, when all the specimens I have seen from a particular habitat have a similar and peculiar character, I have considered them as species; on the contrary when the specimens from the same locality offer variations among themselves, as in those of the genus Hepoona, where the extent of the whiteness on the tail, and the variation in the colour of the body appear to differ in the specimens from the same place, I have regarded them as belonging to the same species, believing it to be a variable species which has an extensive range.
From the Table already given it appears that, of the species found on the Australian Continent, 71 are confined to it, 12 common to it and Van Diemen's Land, and one common to it and Norfolk Island; while of the 24 species found on Van Diemen's Land, 11 are found in it alone.
The species common to the Australian Continent and Van Diemen's Land, are:
2. Nyctophilus geoffroyii.
4. Scotophilus gouldii.
5. Scotophilus australis.
15. Dasyurus viverrinus.
27. Perameles obesula.
32. Phalangista vulpina.
38. Hepoona cookii.
70. Hypsiprymnus minor.
81. Hydromys chrysogaster.
84. Mus lutreola.
94. Platypus anatinus.
The species common to Australia and Norfolk Island, but not found in Van Diemen's Land is:
44. Petaurus sciureus.
The eleven species peculiar to Van Diemen's Land, are:
11. Thylacinus cynocephalus.
12. Diabolus ursinus.
13. Dasyurus maculatus.
17. Phascogale minima.
18. Phascogale affinis.
37. Dromicia nana.
34. Phalangista fuliginosa.
58. Halmaturus billardieri.
80. Phascolomys ursina.
93. Echidna setosa.
83. Mus setifer.
The last species is also found in Java, from whence it might have been introduced. It has been known in Van Diemen's Land some years, and does not appear to have found its way to Australia.
Of the 72 species found in the Australian continent six have only been recorded as having been found on the North-west coast:
52. Macropus unguifer.
55. Halmaturus bennettii.
65. Halmaturus fasciatus.
67. Petrogale brachyotis.
71. Hypsiprymnus lesueurii.
Peculiar to the Western Australian district are:
22. Phascogale leucogaster.
23. Myrmecobius fasciatus.
28. Perameles fuscoventer.
29. Perameles obesula.
30. Perameles lagotis.
51. Macropus lunatus.
54. Halmaturus manicatus.
60. Halmaturus brevicaudatus.
69. Petrogale lateralis.
72. Hypsiprymnus gilbertii.
72. Bettongia ogilbii.
91. Hapalotis gouldii.
To the South Australian district:
19. Phascogale rufogaster.
49. Macropus fuliginosus.
63. Halmaturus derbianus.
77. Bettongia grayii.
85. Mus greyii.
86. Mus adelaidensis.
To the North Coast:
7. Molossus australis ?
In the New South Wales district there have been recorded the following: some of them may have a larger distribution on the Continent, when these countries become better known, and some of them (marked with a star*) are common to this district, and Van Diemen's Land:
1. Rhinolophus megaphyllus.
4.* Scotophilus gouldii.
6. Scotophilus pumilus.
8. Pteropus poliocephalus.
9. Canis familiaris Australis.
10. Otaria peronii.
14. Dasyurus geoffroyii.
15.* Dasyurus viverrinus.
16. Phascogale penicillata.
20. Phascogale flavipes.
21. Phascogale murina.
25. Myrmecobius ? rufus.
26.* Perameles fasciatus.
27.* Perameles nasuta.
31. Choeropus ecaudatus.
33. Phalangista xanthopus.
35. Phalangista canina.
36. Phalangista cuvieri.
39. Petaurista taguanoides.
40. Petaurista leucogaster.
41. Petaurus macrurus.
42. Petaurus flaviventer.
43. Petaurus breviceps.
44. Petaurus sciureus.
45. Petaurus peronii.
46. Acrobates pygmaeus.
47. Macropus major.
50. Macropus fraenatus.
53. Halmaturus parryii.
57. Halmaturus elegans.
56. Halmaturus ualabatus.
59. Halmaturus eugenii.
61. Halmaturus dorsalis.
62. Halmaturus parma.
64 ? Halmaturus banksianus.
66. Petrogale robusta.
68. Petrogale penicillata.
70.* Hypsiprymnus minor.
73. Lagorchestes leporoides.
74. Bettongia setosa.
76. Bettongia whitei.
78. Bettongia rufescens.
79. Phascolarctos fuscus.
82. Pseudomys australis.
87. Mus platyurus ?
88. Mus hovellii ?
89. Hapalotis albipes.
90. Hapalotis mitchellii.
92. Echidna aculeata.
94.* Ornithorhynchus paradoxus.
Two species are remarkable as being common to the East and South sides of the Continent, namely:
48. Macropus laniger.
84. Mus lutreola.
26.* P. fasciata.
The latter is also found in Van Diemen's Land. And the four following species are common to the South, West, and East sides of the Continent:
5. Scotophilus australis.
32. Phalangista vulpina.
38. Hepoona cookii, and varieties.
81. Hydromys chrysogaster.
These are all also found in Van Diemens' Land, and may therefore be considered as the most generally distributed of all the Australian animals. Both the Phalangista and the Hepoona are very variable in their colours, and may prove to comprise different species when we are enabled to examine a larger number of specimens from different localities.