HALMATURUS U ALABATUS.
Black Wallaby.
Spec. Char. H. oellere longo, rigido ; nigrescenti fusco, pallidiore adsperso ; corpore subtùsjlavido, nonnunquam arenaceo,
net ferrugineo ; attribut interne p i lis sordide a His instructs, et externe nota fem tg in eâ basait asque ad coltum pro-
ductâ, cinctis ; antibrackiis nota nigerrimâ basait.
Descr— Fur long, harsh to the touch ; general colour blackish brown, pencilled with a lighter hue ; under surface
yellowisfr in some specimens, in others deep sandy or rusty red ; ears clothed with dirty white hairs internally ;
a rusty patch surrounds their base, and is extended on the neck ; checks pale brown, mingled with dirty white ;
u p p e r part o f the muzzle and round the eye blackish ; lips and chin whitish ; wrists and hand black ; immediately
beneath the insertion of the fore-arm a jet-black patch ; tarsi black ; basal third of the tail like the body, the
remainder black.’
Male.
feet, inches.
Length from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail . . . . 4 4
„ of t a i l .................................................................................................1 4
„ „ tarsus and toes, including the n a i l .................................. 8t
„ „ arm and hand, including the n a i l s ............................................
, * „ face from the tip of the nose to the base of the ear . . . 4-J-
„ „ ear......................................................................................................
Macropus Ualabatus, Less. Man. de Mamm., p. 227.
Kangurus Brunii, Desm. Ency. Meth. Mamm., p. 275 ?
Halmaturm Lessonii, Gray.
T h i s well-marked species inhabits, with but few exceptions, all the thick brushes of New South Wales, especially such
as are wet or humid. I hunted it successfully at Illawarra, on the small islands at the mouth o f the Hunter, and on the
Liverpool ranges. In the former localities it was frequently found in the wettest places, either among the high grass
and other dense vegetation, or among the thick mangroves, whose roots are washed by each succeeding tide. The
islands at the mouth of the Hunter, particularly Mosquito and Ash islands, are not unfrequently flooded to a great extent,
yet it leaps through the shallow parts with apparent enjoyment, and even crosses the river from one island to the other.
On the Liverpool range it as strictly keeps to such parts as are most humid, often near the crowns of mountains, which
are frequently enveloped in fogs and dews. Over what extent o f country this species will be found to range it is impossible
to say; as yet I have only observed it in the localities above mentioned; the dense brushes o f the Clarence,
Manning, and, in fact, all the brushes from Western Port to Moreton Bay, are in all probability inhabited by it.
Independently o f its dark colouring, lengthened tail, and stiff wiry hair, it may be readily distinguished from every
other species by the jet-black spot immediately beneath the insertion of the arm. When full grown this animal is about
the size o f H. Bennettii and H. ruficollis.