PETROGALE LATERALIS, Gould.
Striped-sided Rock Wallaby.
Spec. Char.—P . vellere et breviore et wide molliore quam in P . penicillata ; caudce dimidio basalt fuscescenti-cinereo, apicali
nigro ; lined alba conspicua ab apice usque ad auris basin; nota splendide fused inter scapulas oriente, per brachia
postice ducta, per latera ; et intus per femora ; hac nota a colore corporis superioris disjuncta lined alba conspicua ;
mento, gutlure, pectore et abdomine arenaceo-rubris ; colli lateribus inferioribus cinereis.
Descr.—Fur shorter and much softer than that of P . penicillata; general colour reddish brown, passing into silvery grey
on the neck and shoulders; basal half o f the tail brownish grey, the remainder black, with a brush at the en d ;
face greyish brown; a distinct white mark from the tip to the base o f the ear; a black mark between the ears
extending in a distinct narrow line half way down the back; ears dark brown, becoming of a light sandy colour
at the base; a deep rich brown mark extends from behind the shoulders, down the back o f the arm, along the
flanks and down the inside o f the thigh; this mark is separated from the general colour o f the back by a very
distinct stripe o f white ; chin, throat, chest and abdomen sandy red; under sides o f the neck grey; arms light
sandy red, passing into black on the hands ; tarsi reddish brown, passing into blackish brown on the toes.
Male.
feet, inches.
Length from the tip o f the nose to the extremity o f the tail . . . . 3 5
„ o f the t a i l .............................................................• - ......................................1 5
„ ,, tarsus and toes, including the n a i l ................................................ *>7
„ „ : arms and hands, including the n a i l s ......................................... 4f
„ „ face from the tip o f the nose to the base o f the ear . . . 4
„ e a r ......................................................................................................... 1*
Petrogale lateralis, Gould in Proc. o f Zool. Soc., for January 11, 1842.
T his conspicuously marked species is very abundant in all the rocky districts o f Swan River, and I have little doubt
that the whole o f the line of coast o f Western Australia will hereafter be found to be inhabited by it, wherever the
character of the country is suitable. Independently o f its markings and the character of its fur, it is a much more
diminutive animal than the P . penicillata; the crania o f these two animals also exhibit sufficient differences to satisfy
the most sceptical mind of their being specifically distinct; in disposition and economy, however, but little difference is
found to exist between them.
Mr. Gilbert states that “ it is only to be met with in the rocky parts of the interior intersected with caverns. It is a
remarkably shy and wary animal, seldom venturing out during the day, but feeds at night in little open patches of grass, never,
from all that I have been able to observe, going more than two or three hundred yards from its rocky retreats. When alarmed
it leaps most extraordinary distances from rock to rock and point to point with the utmost rapidity.”