File:A hand-book to the marsupialia and monotremata (1896) (14591915208).jpg

Identifier: handbooktomarsup00lydekk (find matches)
Title: A hand-book to the marsupialia and monotremata
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Lydekker, Richard, 1849-1915
Subjects: Marsupials Monotremes
Publisher: London : E. Lloyd
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

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p. 185 (1841). Hypsipryjnnus ogilbyi, Waterhouse, loc. cif. Bettongia ogilbyi^ Gray, in Greys Australia, Appendix, vol. ii.,p. 403 (1841). Bettongia gouldi^ Gray, List Mamm. Brit. Mus., p. 94 (1843). (Plate IX.) Cliaracters.—Fur and general coloration not markedly differentfrom those of the other species. Feet pale brown; bristlyhairs of hind feet not concealing the claws ; tail long, with aprominent black crest along the terminal third or two-thirds ofthe upper surface, beneath pale brown. Length of head andbody about 14 inches; of tail 12 inches. Distribution.—The whole of Australia, except the extreme north. HaMts.—These Rat-Kangaroos are social and nocturnal in theirhabits, and feed chiefly upon roots and grasses. The chief useof the prehensile tail seems to be for carrying bunches of grassfor the construction of the nest. The latter is built in a hollowin the ground specially excavated by the animal, and has itsaperture placed on the level of the herbage by which it is sur-
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i I THE RUFOUS RAT-KANGAROOS. 71 rounded, so that its detection is a matter of some difficulty.When inhabited, the entrance of the nest is closed with grass,dragged in by its occupants. Although generally nocturnal, when disturbed, this speciesmay occasionally be seen abroad during the day. Krefft writes: It is not very quick, and is easily caught, even by com-mon dogs. I have from time to time kept numbers of theseanimals in captivity in an enclosure of pine-logs about sevenfeet high, which they used to climb with a nimbleness trulyastonishing, and thus often escaped. During the daytime Ialways noticed these creatures crouching in some corner fastasleep, with the tail brought forward between the hind legs,the head between the paws. THE RUFOUS RAT-KANGAROOS. GENUS ^PYPRYMNUS./Epyprymnus^ Garrod, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1875, p. 59. Nose partially hairy; ears rather long ; front claws verylong and strong; hind feet longer than the head, with thenaked soles narrow and coarsely granulated ; tai

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