536 Ma. OLDFIELD THOMAS OX [May 15, 
2. On Mammals from Northern Australia presented to the 
National Museum by Sir Wm. Ingram, Bt., and the Hon. 
John Forrest. By Oldfield Thomas, F.R.S., F.Z.S.* 
[Received April 2, 1906.] 
(Plate XXXVII.t) 
The Northern Territory of South Australia has a Mammalian 
fauna of a very peculiar type, and one that is far from being 
worked out, in spite of the labours of Dr. Elsey, Mr. Gould's 
collectors, and others in early days, and of Dahl, Tunney, and 
others more recently. Similarly the centre of the continent is 
badly represented in the National Collection, although Prof. W, 
B. Spencer, of Melbourne, who first went there with the Horn 
Expedition, has laid the foundation of a proper knowledge of it. 
Now, thanks to the liberality of Sir William Ingram, Bart., 
and of the Hon. John Forrest, of Brisbane, a zoological collector 
has been put to work at Alexandria, a station intermediate in 
position between the two areas above referred to, and therefore 
in a district possessing a very special interest to the student of 
Australian zoology. 
Alexandria is situated about lat. 19° S., long. 137° E., about 200 
miles inland from the S.W. coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and 
lies in an area draining inwards to the Polygonum swamp. The 
watershed-boundaiies would, however, appear to be low, and 
unlikely to act as barriers to the dispei'sal of species, so that in 
this region the question of drainage is not likely to be of great 
zoological importance. Collections have also been made near 
Alroy, about 100 miles to the west of Alexandria. Perhaps later 
the exploration may be extended still further west to the ranges 
along the Trans-continental Telegraph-line. 
Mr. W. Stalker, the collector employed, has naturally found 
immense difSculties in the way of collecting in this desert region, 
owing to the long-continued drought, no rains of any value having 
fallen for several years, and the fauna being therefore at its 
lowest ebb. 
For this reason the collection of which I here give a list is a 
most creditable one for the time in which it was obtained, and as 
rain has since fallen in the district we may hope that Mr. Stalker 
will now be enabled to capture many further forms of interest 
that have hitherto escaped him. 
The present collection contains examples of 16 species, of which 
five are new. The most interesting of these is the peculiar little 
fiat-headed Marsupial mouse which I have named Phascogale 
* [The complete accounts of the new species described in this communication 
appear here; the names and preliminary diagnoses of two of the species were 
published in the ' Abstract,' and these are distinguished by the names being under- 
lined. — Editor.] 
t For explanation of the Plate, see p. 543. 
EZ.S.1906.P1..XXX-VI1. 
}i Goodciuld, del. stlitk 
HM-tTn ,imp 
1. MUS FORRESTI, 2, PHASCOGALE INGRAMl 
OCR text unavailable for this page.1906.] MAMMALS FROM NORTHERN AUSTRALIA. 537 
higrami, after Sir William Ingram, thougli a new species^ of Mus 
{M.forresti) has such peculiarities of dentition that their study 
has resulted in a recent rearrangement of the murine genera of 
Australia. 
1. Nyctophilus geoffroyi Leach. 
c? . Alexandria. 
Forearm 35 mm. 
2. Chalinolobus gouldi Gray. 
c^. 122, 127. $. 125, 128. Bluff Hole, Alexandria, 21-24 
May, 1905. 
3. SCOTEINUS GREYI Gould. 
Ten specimens. Alexandria. 
4. Nyctinomus plicatus colonicus, subsp. n. 
J.Alexandria. B.M. No. 6.3.9.16. Type. 
Similar in all essential particulars to the true Indian plicattos, 
but rather larger in body and limb dimensions, and markedly 
larger in the skull, the cranial crests, sagittal and lambdoid, very 
well developed. 
Dimensions of the type, measured on the spirit-specimen : — 
Forearm 50 mm. 
Head and body 67 mm. ; tail 42 ; ear 22 ; third finger, meta- 
carpal 50, 1st phalanx 21, 2nd phalanx 22 ; lower leg 18. 
Skull — greatest length to occipital ci'est 22 ; basal length 17-7 ; 
zygomatic breadth 13"5 ; mastoid breadth 12 ; palate length 8'7 ; 
front of upper canine to back of m^ 8 ; front of lower canine to 
back of mg 9. 
Hab. and Type as above. 
A South-Australian specimen of JV. plicatus received from 
Prof. Leche in 1890 also belongs to this larger race. On the 
other hand, examples from New Guinea and the Fiji Islands 
correspond in size with Javan and Indian specimens, 
5. Canis dingo Blum. 
Skin and two skulls. Alexandria. 
6. Mus villosissimus Waite. 
M. longijoilis Gould nee Waterh. 
S. 86, 87, 89, 101, 106, 108, 139, 140, 142. $. 114, 137, 
141, 143. Alexandria. 
S . 145, 186, 187. 2 . 147, 148, 184, 185. S.W. of Alroy. 
This species is so common at the station as to be a serious 
pest. 
The type locality of Gould's M. longynlis was the Victoria 
River, about 400 miles to the west of Alexandiia, but in the 
same faunal area. 
538 MB. OLDFIELD THOMAS ON [May 15, 
7. Mus PORRESTi Thos. (Plate XXXVII. fig. 1.) 
Abstr. P, Z. S. No, 32, p. 6, May 22, 1906. 
5 . 92, 101, 104, 117, 118, 119. Alexandria. 
*' Caught on diy grassy plain. Native name ' Keragenga.' 
Mammas 4."— IF". S, 
Size medium, intermediate between "rat " and "mouse." Fur 
of medium length ; hairs of back 9-10 mm. long, fairly coarse, but 
not spinous. General colour above pale " drab-grey," paling to a 
creamy drab on the sides. Some specimens are, however, more 
buffy in tone. Under surface pure sharply defined white through- 
out, the hairs white to their bases. Ears rather short, their 
proectote pale bi'own, not darker than the general colour of the 
head ; a tuft of creamy-drab hairs at their anterior base. Upper 
surface of hands and feet pure white. Tail well-haired, greyish 
white, little darker along the upper side. 
Skull rather lightly built, with a slender muzzle. Interorbital 
region narrow, parallel-sided, its centre concave upwards, its 
edges rounded anteriorly, squared behind, but without ridges. 
Palatal foramina long, reaching backward to the anterior fourth 
of m^, unusually narrow, especially posteriorly, their edges 
rounded. Palate extending in middle line some way behind m^, 
the interpterygoid fossae commencing further forward than the 
mesopterygoid one between them ; the former very broad, the 
latter narrow. Bullse comparatively little swollen. 
Incisors slender, even in old specimens. Molars of rather 
unusual structure as compared with typical Mus (ratms, &c.), but 
there is a great deal of variation among the Australian Muridse 
in this respect, and the characters of M, forresti are led up to by 
other described species — e. g., M. nanus and M. gouldii. M} with 
a very strongly marked cingular ledge at its antero-internal 
corner, practically forming a small supplementary anterior lamina ; 
the normal anterior and second laminse very strongly slanted 
backwards intei'nally, their outer cusps hardly perceptible. M' 
with the large antero-internal cusp (" 6 " of Winge) about equal 
to the poster 0- external (" 5 "), the normal main lamina between 
them strongly tilted, as in m\ and with its inner and median 
cusps subequal, the outer practically absent ; a minute antero- 
extei-nal supplementary cusp present. Lower teeth unusually 
brachyodont ; m^ and m^ each with a small median supplementary 
cusp behind. 
Dimensions of the type : — 
Head and body 104 mm. ; tail 72 ; hind foot 19 ; ear 15. 
Skull — greatest length 25 ; basilar length 21 ; zygomatic 
breadth 13*5 ; nasals, length 8*5 ; interorbital breadth 3"6 ; 
palatilar length 13; diastema 7'6 ; palatal foramina 5*5x1 '4; 
length of upper molar series 4'4. 
Hah. Alexandria. 
Tij2)e. Old female. B.M. No. 6.3.9.39. Original number 118. 
Collected 10 May, 1905. 
1906.] MAMMALS FROM NORTHERN AUSTRALIA. 539 
This striking species may be readily distinguished from all 
others by its intermediate size, pale colour, pure white belly, 
peculiarly narrowed palatal foramina, and the unusual dental 
characters above described. Mus fieldi Waite, in other respects 
apparently near it, has a very much longer tail. I have named 
it in honour of the Hon. John Forrest, who has shared with 
Sir William Ingram the expense of supporting a collector at 
Alexandria station. 
8. Mus HERMANNSBURGENSIS Waite. 
S. 126, 131. $. 124, 130. Bluff Hole, Alexandria, May 
1905. 
S . 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 169, 179, 182. $ . 167, 
168, 170, 180, 181, 183. 35 miles S.W. of Alroy, Alexandria. 
Alt. 800'. 
"These Mice make large burrows in the hard stony ridges, 
piling up the excavated stones on the sui'face. The entrance 
is about 1 5 or 20 feet from the pile of stones, and is a small hole 
surrounded by a ring of stones." — W. S. 
Many of the dental peculiarities of M. fm^resti are present in 
this species, notably the strong development of the antero-internal 
cingular cusp of m\ and the slanting position of the inner part 
of the laminae of the same tooth. There is, however, an unusual 
amount of variability in the development of the different cusps, 
especially in the degree to which the outer cusp of the upper 
molars is separated from the main middle one. The palatal 
foramina are not specially narrowed behind. 
No skins of this interesting species had been previously sent to 
Europe. 
9. ISTOTOMYS MITCHELLI Og. 
<S. 153, 154, 157, 158, 172, 177, 178. $. 149, 150, 151, 
152, 156, 171, 173, 176; and one in spirit. S.W. of Alroy, 
Alexandria. 
Mammas — 2 = 4. 
The range of N. mitchelli seems to extend through the western 
part of New South Wales and Queensland. The British Museum 
contains examples collected by Sir Thomas Mitchell in Central 
New South Wales, while the type, now in the Sydney Museum, 
was obtained near the junction of the Murrumbidgee with the 
Murray. 
My i^easons for applying the name Notomys to the Jerboa- 
footed members of the Conihirus group have been explained 
elsewhere *. 
All these specimens have an indication of a glandular organ on 
the throat, but whether it is such a " pouch " as that on which 
Mr. Waite founded the genus Aseopharynx^ the condition of the 
specimen does not enable me to state. 
* Ann. & Mag. N. H. (7) xvii. p. 81 (1906). 
540 MR. OLDFIELD THOMAS ON [May 1 5, 
10. Macropus rupus Desm. 
5 (young). Alexandria. 
11. Trichosurus vulpecula aenhemensis Coll. 
$. 123, 133. Alexandria. 
12. Dasyurus hallucatus Gould. 
2 . 138. Alexandria, 800'. 
" Trapped near water. Lives in lakes under and in rocks." — 
W.S. 
13. Phascogalb mimulus, sp. n. 
2 . Skinned from spirit. Alexandria. (B.M. N'o. 6.3.9.75.) 
A small species with a red patch behind each ear. No lower 
secator *. 
Size small, the general bulk far less than in Ph. macdonnellensis, 
with which alone comparison is needed. Fur short and fine ; 
hairs of back only about 5 mm. in length, as compared with 
8 mm. in the allied species. General colour above rather browner 
than " smoke-grey," rather greyer than " broccoli-brown," but 
some slight alteration may have occurred during the few months 
the specimen has been in spirit. Under surface dull cream-bufF, 
probably whiter originally, the hairs dark slaty for three-fourths 
their length. Head clearer grey than back, a light line edging 
the eyes above and below. Ears of medium length, their fine 
hairs rufous brown. Behind each ear a large and prominent 
patch of light rufous hairs, contrasting strongly with the genei'al 
colour. Upper surface of hands and feet dull whitish ; soles with 
the main pads arranged as in Ph. macdon^iellensis, but the general 
surface less granulated and the foot itself markedly narrower, 
measuring in the type only 3*4 mm. in breadth as compared with 
5*2. Tail nearly the length of the head and body, slightly 
incrassated at base, thinly haired, not tufted or crested, dull 
rufous brown above, rather paler below. 
Skull considerably smaller than that of Ph. maGdonnellensis, 
but of the same general proportions. Nasals rather shorter and 
broader. Bullae conspicuously smaller. 
Teeth as in the allied species, with the remarkable exception 
that the last premolariform tooth, the " secator " (p* of the 
Catalogue of Marsupials), while similarly absent in the lower jaw, 
is in the upper well developed, two-rooted, barely smaller than 
the tooth in front of it, and slightly larger than p'. In Ph. mac- 
donnellensis this tooth is minute and single-rooted above in the 
usual correlation to its total absence below. 
* The secator is the changing premolar, "p*" of the Catalogue of Marsupials, but 
probably more correctly homologised with the tritus, or p-* of other mammals : 
cf. Ann. & Mag. N. H. (7) xvi. p. 425 (footnote) (1905). In that footnote the 
words " or more probably mp^ " should be deleted. 
1906.] MAMMALS FROM NORTHERN AUSTRALIA. 541 
Dimensions of the type, measured in spirit : — 
Head and body 76 mm. ; tail 74; hind foot 13'5 ; ear 16. 
Skull — greatest length 24' 7 ; basal length 22 ; zygomatic 
breadth 14-6 ; nasals 9 ; interorbital breadth 5-3 ; height of 
crown above basion 5*6 ; palate length 13 ; breadth at outer corners 
of penultimate molar 8*8 ; antero-posterior length of bullae 5"8 
(6'8 in Ph. macdonnellensis) ; combined length of three anterior 
molariform teeth 5*2. 
Hah. and Type as above. 
This species shows affinity to the Central- Australian Ph. mac- 
donnellensis by its absent lower secator and its rufous ear-patches, 
but is distinguished by its smaller size, shorter fur, greyer colour, 
smaller buUse, and by the increased development of its upper 
secator, a development quite anomalous in the case of a species 
without a lower one. In Ph. macdonnellensis Prof. W. B. Spencer 
records that in every one of 13 specimens examined this tooth is 
either absent or very minute, so that the presence of a well- 
developed double-rooted upper secator clearly indicates specific 
distinction. 
14. Phascogale iNGRAMi Thos. (Plate XXXYII. fig. 2.) 
Abstr. P.Z. S. No. 32, p. 6, May 22, 1906. 
S. 110, 111. 2. 109, 113. Buchanan, Alexandria, 600'. 
S. 120. Blufi'Hole, Alexandria, 600'. 
A remarkably small species, with minute teeth and flattened 
skull. 
Size veiy small, slightly smaller even than in Ph. minutissima. 
Fur soft, close, and fine; hairs of back about 4 mm. in length. 
General colour above not unlike that of the paler wild-living 
forms of lius muscuhos, something between Ridgway's " wood- 
bi-own " and " broccoli-brown," the hairs slaty grey with pale 
tips. A younger specimen is clearer grey, without the drabby 
tone. Under surface paler, with a yellowish tinge, not sharply 
defined, the hairs slaty at base except on the chin. Crown like 
back. Cheeks and chin whitish. A whitish-buflfy line just over 
each eye. Ears of medium length, their fine hairs buffy whitish. 
Upper surface of hands and feet whitish. Tail of medium length, 
vmiformly short-haired, about as in 31iis muscidus, not pencilled, 
pale brownish white, scarcely lighter below. 
Skull remarkable for its extraordinary flattening, a flattening 
only equalled in 4 other mammals *, three being bats, the height in 
profile view from the base of the skull in front of the bullae to the 
crown only 3-3 mm., as compared with 4-7 mm. in a skull, other- 
wise little larger, of Ph. minutissima. Zygomata evenly convex 
outwards. Nasals well expanded in their posterior half. Inter- 
orbital region flat, its edges without ridges. Occipital crests 
almost obsolete. Anterior palatine foramina reaching to the level 
* Graphiurus platynps, Tijlonycteris pachi/pus, MimctiUvs Tiioloneyi, and Fla- 
tjjmops macmilla ni.