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Show 1880.] MR. E. R. ALSTON ON ANTECHINOMYS. 455 C.M.Z.S., in 1866, he proposed that Phascologale lanigera should be made the type of a new genus, Antechinomys1. The characters given by him are very brief, and, as the animal appears to be extremely rare in collections, I trust that the following detailed description of this remarkable form will be useful to any zoologist who may undertake the long-needed revision of the Marsupialia. For the opportunity of fully examining the structure of Antechinomys, and of comparing it with that of the allied genera Phascologale, Antechinus, and Podabrus, I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Clark, Dr. Gunther, and Professor Flower. EXTERNAL CHARACTERS. General form slender; head proportionally large, legs and tail greatly elongated. Head narrow, conical; muzzle produced and pointed; muffle broad, naked, with a slight median groove, but not cleft. Ears large, tapered, rounded at the tips, almost naked, except at the base and along the front edge, where they are sparsely haired ; in the interior of conch near the base of the anterior margin is a curious free lobe, like the tragus of a Bat, about 0*15 inch in length, and the same in breadth. This lobe is also found in the allied genera. No perceptible pouch. Fore limbs very long and slender, the forearm being about double the length of the upper arm, scantily clad with short white hairs ; fore feet very small, with five digits, of which the third is the longest, the second and fourth subequal, and the first the shortest, each armed with a small but well-developed claw ; soles with three large pads, covered with minute tubercles. In Podabrus the fore limbs are very much shorter, and the soles are similar, but have five tuberculated callosities instead of three. In Phascologale and Antechinus, on the other hand, the fore feet are comparatively broad, and the soles are naked, with elongated transversely striated pads. Hind limbs nearly as slender and still more elongated, the foot longer than the forearm and nearly as long as the tibia ; the muscles of the leg are only fleshy in their upper moiety, leaving the lower half slender, like that of a bird ; the latter portion and the whole of the foot, except the base of the toes, rather densely clothed with small whitish hairs. Toes four in number, the first being absent, the third and fourth equal and the longest, the second and fifth subequal; claws similar to those of the fore foot; on the sole at the base of the toes is a large crescentic callosity covered with small tubercles. In all the other genera there are five toes, the first being a short nailless thumb, which is placed furthest back in Podabrus, but still extends almost to the base of the other digits. In that genus the hind foot is almost as slender as in Antechinomys, although much less elongated ; the metatarsus is more or less hairy behind, and the callosity of the sole is similar, except that it is divided into three; the tarsus is almost naked behind. Phascologale and Ant-echinus have the hind foot very broad and short, with naked soles and transversely striated pads, similar to those of the fore feet. 1 P. Z. S. 1866, p. 434. |
