.I Could mdKCßieldo-. del tthfh
BEIiBROLAGüS URS IFUS , MOL.
Hu/InwuUl&WnlhmJmp.
DENDROLAGUS URSINUS, Müll.
Black Tree-Ka ng'aroo.
Dendrolagus ursinus, Müll. Zoogd. van den Indischen Archipel., p art iv. pl. 19; pl. 22. fig. 1, head; pl. 23. figs. 1-3,
and pl. 24. fig. 1, skull; figs. 2 & 3, bones of hind-leg.—Gould, Mon. of Macropodidae, pl. .—
Waterh. Nat. Hist. Mamm., vol. i. p. 185.:—Gray, List of Mamm. in Coll. Brit. Mus., p. 87.
As an evidence of how little we know of the productions of New Guinea, and of the infrequency of our
intercourse with that country, I may state, that, although twelve years have elapsed since the publication of
the second part of my “ Monograph of the Macropodidae, or Family of Kangaroos,” I have not been able
to obtain any information respecting the history and habits of this singular animal beyond the meagre
account there given, the substance of which I here repeat.
Both the Dendrolagus ursinus and the D. inustus are natives of New Guinea, where they inhabit the trees,
and feed upon the bark and leaves of the smaller branches, fruits and berries. They were discovered in
Triton Bay by Dr. M. S. Muller, who states that they also frequent the interior of the country: in all
probability they are generally dispersed over the forests of that terra incognita. What a field for enterprise
here presents itself to the notice of the scientific explorer !
The specimen from which my former illustration was taken, and which was then in the Royal Museum at
Leyden, now forms part of the fine collection at the British Museum; the half-figure, of the size of life, on
the accompanying Plate was also taken from the same example.
The following accurate description of this animal is transcribed from Mr. Waterhouse’s “ Natural History
of the Mammalia,” a work of great scientific value, which it is to be regretted has been discontinued for
want of a due appreciation of its merits on the part of the public:—
“ This animal has received the specific name of ursinus, no doubt on account of a certain superficial
resemblance it has to a small Bear, arising in a great measure from the nature of its fur, which differs much
from that of the ordinary Kangaroos, not only in being harsh and glossy, but in being composed of one kind
of hair only; it would appear that that kind of hair which forms the chief clothing in the ordinary Kangaroos
is here entirely, or almost entirely, wanting; and that the hairs representing the longer interspersed hairs in
the fur of those animals, here forms the entire coat. With all the essential characters of the true
Kangaroos, we find, in these tree-climbing animals, the limbs modified for their different mode of life: the
long hind-legs of the Kangaroo proper are replaced by comparatively short legs, and the fore-legs are but
little inferior in size to the posterior limbs; the strong fore-feet are armed with stout and long claws, compressed
and much curved, and fitted for clinging to the inequalities of the bark of the trees. The
enormously long tail no doubt helps to balance the animal whilst on the branches of the lofty trees which it
ascends in quest of food.
“ On the upper parts and sides of the body, as well as the limbs (excepting at the base internally), the
fur is black and glossy, and very nearly uniform to the skin, an indistinct brownish hue being only observable
at the roots of the hairs; tail densely clothed throughout, and black, but tinted with brown at the
roots of the hairs; ears densely clothed with very long hairs which completely conceal them; the hairs
springing from the top of the ears are brown, but the rest are black; the head in front of the ears and the
whole of the under parts of the body are brown, but varying in intensity in parts, being darker round the
eye and on the muzzle, and yellowish on the cheeks; the belly is also yellowish, whilst the chest assumes a
deeper hue; the muffle appears as if naked, but has in fact very minute hairs scattered over it.”