movements, i f they do not exa&ly referable thofe o f the bear, at leaft
ftrongly remind one of that animal.
Its length, from the tip o f the tail to the tip o f the nofe, is thirty-
one inches, o f which its body takes up twenty-three and five-tenths.
The head is feven inches, and the tail five-tenths. Its circumference
behind the fore-legs, twenty-feven inches; acrofs the thickeft
part of the belly, thirty-one inches. Its weight by hand is fome-
what between twenty-five and thirty pounds. The hair is coarfe,
and about one inch or one inch and five tenths in length, thinly
fet upon the belly, thicker on the back and head, and thickeft upon
the loins and rump; the colour o f it a light faudy brown, o f varying
{hades, but darkeft along the back.
The head is large and flattifh, and, when looking the animal full
in the face, feems, excluding the ears, to form nearly an equilateral
triangle, any fide o f which is about feven inches and five tenths in
length, but the upper fide, or-that which conftitutes the breadth o f
the head, is rather the {horteft. The hair upon the face lies in regular
order, as i f it were combed, with its ends pointed upwards in
a kind o f radii, from the nofe their centre.
The ears are {harp and eredt, o f two inches and three-tenths in
length, ftand well afunder, and are in nowife difproportionate*
The eyes are fmall, and rather funken than prominent, but quick
and lively. They are plaeed about two inches and five tenths
afunder, a little below the centre of the imaginary triangle towards
the nofe. The nice co- adaptation o f their ciliary proceffes, which
are covered with a fine hair, feems to affofd the animal an extraordinary
power of excluding whatever might be hurtful.
The nofe is large or fpreading, the noftrils large, long, and capable
of being ciofed. They ftand angularly with each other, and a
channel is continued from them towards the upper lip, which is divided
like the hare’ s. The wliilkers are rather thick and ftrong,
and are in length from two to three indies, and five tenths.
The opening o f its mouth is fmall; it contains five long grafs-
cutting teeth in the front o f each jaw, like thofe of the kangooroo;
within them is a vacancy for an inch or more, then appear two
fmall canine teeth of equal height with, and fo much fimilar to,
eight molares fituated behind, as fcarcely to be diftinguifhable
from them. The whole number in both jaws amount to twenty-
four.
The neck is thick and fhort, and greatly reftrains the motions o f
the head, which, according to the common expreffion, looks as i f it
was ftuck upon the {houlders.
Fromithe neck the back arches a little as far as the loins, whence
it goes off at a flat Hope to the hindmoft parts, where not any tail is
vifible, A tail, however, may be found by carefully palling the
finger over the flat Hope in a line with the back bone. After Separating
the hairs, it is feen -of fome five tenths o f an inch in length,
and from ith'ree to one tenth o f an inch in diameter, naked^ except
for a few Ihort fine hairs near its end. This curious tail feemed to
hold a much bolder proportion in the young than in the full-grown
animal.
The fore legs are very ftrong and mufcular : their length, to the
foie o f the paw, is five inches five tenths, and the diftance between
them is five inches and five tenths. The paws are fleftiy, round,
and large, being one inch and nine tenths in diameter. Their daws
are five in number,- attached to as many Ihort digitations. The
three middle claws-are ftrong, and about eight or nine tenths o f an.
inch in length ; the thumb and little finger claws are alfo ftrong,
but Ihorter than the others, being only from fix to feven tenths o f
an inch. The flelhy root o f the thumb claw is fmaller , and. more
flexible than the others. The foie o f the paw is hard, and the upper
part is covered with the common hair, down to the roots of
the claws which it overhangs. The hind legs, are lefs ftrong and
mufcular than the fore ; their length, to the foie, is five inches and
five tenths ; the diftance between, feven inches and five tenths.
x 2 The