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WO. Z1. A lluto Inland ‘Z T». break In pir.'-1* i. An ancient Un/uin «. To tll{KulHHlt;C b Mn'ililB ItabUitdiiiii,THE NATURALIST.THE DOC-HEADED OPOSSUM.Australia. Van Dieinan’s Land or Tasmania, and we may aay New Guinea alio, po*ee*a a population of mammal* whose character* are *u marked that it may bo aaacrtod that all Uimc countries once formed a raft continent which ha* for a Ion* tima ^*ea acparatod from the other region* of the globe. The mammal, of this southern, and bow dismembered, continent belong. In fact, to other categoric* than the present mammal* of Europe. They oorrvepond to the oidci—or, better, to the sub-el***—of fclonotremato, oompruing the ant eater* and duck hill*, whoee analogue* might he aooght for in *ain in other countries, or to the order of Alanuplalla, which *1*11 oomprieee, It la true, a tew raiirceentatiTc* in|the new world, but whish, •Inee the tertiary period, ha* become completely foreign to Europe.Without being ae odd a* the MonoUemaU. which hare rota I nod certain trait* of the reptile* and bird# In their structure and moda ofdevelopment, the Manupialia yet pv rhtoh stamp* thrir■■range ouaraeter wnicn stamps tBetr organisation with the aeal of inferiority. Their young an bora bunch a aUte of feebleneee that they would infallibly be condemned to perish bad not nature taken earn to protect them doting the early period of their existence by offrring them ahelter in a pouch, or ‘ *them aheJter in a pooeh, or at least a oulaneoua fold situated under the mother’s abdomen, in the Immediate rteinlty of the bind leg*- Thi*intoto which the order owes by two more or ? appendage* which, author*, reeuil from ofIhg5turn*, have cwaeUy the nalure vof our her-viu*. that toe phaicoloiiie* (wombats) may bo compaicil to our marmot*, whose bulky foim. maseive Lead, and digging habits they posse**, while tlie da*yuios, i»rmpliil« *ml thylacino*, which lu Tasmania and Australia ll»y the part of our oarnivora, seem to have hot rowed theattack men, they show a bold front to the Jog, which hesitate# to attack ihern, anil which ic-Kt and even Iho color of some of these animal*. e ibuyuics, for example, have the »tature,iiointod nu«r. and »|*»tie.i fur of thegrnct*. and. like them, feed upoo small inu-umals, bird* amiInsects, whioh tli-gr capture after sunset, regards external form and nature. there are the same raaeinblxuces between the wolvea of our country and the tbylacine* of Tasmania, to which we propose tr.oic etpecially to call the attention of our reader*.The thylacin**, of which we know but a single species (rty/aeinuj ryno-ccAo/ur), are found, at the present epoch, probably confined to Van Diamon's Land, whore thoy are destined to be exterminated in a near future, as the wolves have been in England. Alter having bean dia-tributed over the entire country, they havo gradually barn driven into the interior by the colonists, whoee herds they decimated, and bav# been obliged to seek a refuge ujion mountains of from 5X0 to 4500 feet altitude, in region, where snow fall* during a part of the year. It Uher* that it waa necessary to look for the thy la-akru to London about 1850 andcine* that were lahru thoae that have been living for three year*iuthe Gaidcn of Plants in Parts. Ae may be judgedthe tbylaeinasfrom the*, faithful portraits, bav. exactly the physiognomy at the wolf in their eonioal head, ereet cars, and elongated snoot truncated at the uatremiiy. They have alao the formidable dentition at the wolf, the numerous luoiaen and the sharp molars, although the latter «k not offer the ttffl* proportion* The bodr la more slender and alto low#* on the leg*, and lb# toll to much more Unerio*. more woolly and colored entirely differently. The ooat* at the tbylaeinaa, la feet,to of a brownish grey, vxrtoeatod with yellow, which becomes lighter toward the lower parte of the body, end whieh anon the loin. Is eraeeed by 14 dark stripe* Three stripes, which arevery sharply outlined, recall thoae of the(chneumoaa, and iacreaae in length up to «Im hips, where they fork and are continued open the baas of the tail by three or few similar butmuch shorter stripe* The toll, vided with coarse bain, to ofabove, of a Ugbter *dark brownVp to tho piewcnt, the tb bred in captivity, eitherpjiloL tivlaciiioi havo not h ranoe or Cnguiud.tires from tiio contort defeated and cri to tl i capThoee in the Garden of Plants »«•tio to hat# bo- Iof tLcir liberty, J more ferocity than doin their native' hi-Jdcu during a:oomo accustomed to tb* and do nut exhibit any many other earnlvot*. and, a* country, they |uefer to rciusin portion of the ilay.We have said above that the thvUeine was | probably confined to Tea man i* The reason that w# were not more affirmative was that wo renumbered that on two occasions the /.oologieal Society of London has received information that tvnd* to make us bettor* in the existenco in Australia of a carniroroua marsupial more or I*m analogous. if not identical, witli tho tbylacine. In a letter addressed to Mr. He later, Mr. P. 0. Sheridan, of UardweU'«... ews* w VI ^biqvrvu(OuoonUand). state., in fact, that bia son. a boy of 13, who waa acou«l«med to run the woodsa iwiIttbthevw|like an old hunter, was out ono day panied by a small Urrier, wl.cn he saw Che alter obtain a aoent and follow it up with j leageraesa. furious to know whst game lie hodto do with, the boy ran after bis dog, and found himself face to faoo with an animal of the .is. Iof a dingo dog. with a round bead like that of _“\wi,5 •,ou^ ^ W1 .wi,h * bod* Iwith yellow and black, and whioh «*. crouch-lug la tlmlUgh grass at about a mil. from the ““•v Tha dog and the as.age beast toon grappled, and the boy. in order to aid bis com-Molon. tried to kill the enemy with a pistol shot, but having meielr succeeded in wounding | aod rendering it more furious, be lodged u pru-drnt to beat a retreat. An animal of the name specie* waa aleo perceived by a noli©# officer of I the earn* district, and traces of it have been I observed on several occasions. Tin* in 1872. a! Mr. Hull, having been called by his inspection service, to the north of Gatdwell, was taking a little reet la his teat. when, in tb* si dine-, of: the ntoht. be beard the barking of an unknown“ . H* *. °Ut ,th h“ 000 pan ions, armed with gun*, but oould not see tb*beast. In return, he diaoo.ered the imprint of . Its feat upon th* ground, and made a faithful tracing el the earn* whioh be seat to England through a Mr. 8cotL Now thi* imprint Lem.10 S* * ••n.lvorousanimal of the eme at a thylacin*-#. OnrtalH in La Jfafttr* 1anmlMth11,fe;HilieiniI*inMito0*'leihhabdr
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Orange Leader
Orange, New South Wales, AU
Sat, Apr 26, 1890
Page 47
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David O.
AU 07 Jan 2023
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