BETTONGIA CAMPESTRIS, Gould.
Plain-loving Jerboa-Kangaroo.
Bettongia campestris, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc. Part xi. p. 81.
Hypsiprymnus (Bettongia) campestris, Waterh. Nat. Hist. Mamm., vol. i. p. 221.
It will be readily seen, on glancing at the accompanying Plate, that the Bettongia campestris cannot he confounded with any other species; its bluff head, the yellow colouring of its sides, and the peculiarly rigid texture of its fur being characters not combined in any of its congeners.
The stony and sandy plains of the interior of South Australia partially clothed with scrub are its native habitat, and I have not yet seen specimens of it from the other colonies either to the east or to the westward.
As confirmatory of its specific value I quote from Mr. Waterhouse, who says:—
"This is a very distinct species, remarkable for its short and broad head, and its general pale yellowish colouring.
"The hairs of the hack are grey at the root, yellow in the middle, then blackish, followed hy a long yellow white space, and black tip; on the chest and belly they are pale grey at the base and yellowish externally, but on the lower part of the abdomen the grey is wanting; the upper lip is white; the muffle is naked; tarsi rusty white; the tail is sparingly clothed with small pale hairs on the upper surface and sides; on the under part the hairs are more dense, harsher, and of a brownish white colour; the sides of the body and the outer surface of the hind legs are of a more distinct yellowish hue than the other parts."
The figures are of the natural size.
