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While the majority had the character of insectivorous marsupials, Dr. Falconer selected one as differing widely from the rest, and pointed out that in certain characters it was allied to the living Kangaroo-rat, or Hypsiprymnus, ten species of which now inhabit the prairies and scrub-jungle of Australia, feeding on plants, and gnawing scratched-up roots.
Among the most abundant are those of the kangaroo, of which there are four species, while others belong to the genera Phascolomys, the wombat; Dasyurus, the ursine opossum; Phalangista, the vulpine opossum; and Hypsiprymnus, the kangaroo-rat. Part of lower jaw of Macropus atlas. Owen. A young individual of an extinct species. a. Lower jaw of largest living species of kangaroo.
Of course, you would have rushed him; you would have wrenched the gun from his grasp, and broken it across your knee; you would have despoiled him of his , and cuffed him home with ignominy. Yes, I know. So would I. What I actually did, however, was to make two kangaroo-rat springs, which landed me in the bottom of the drain.
Even at mid-day, the forest wore a sombre aspect, and a stillness and solitude reigned throughout it that were very striking. Occasionally, a timid kangaroo might be seen stealing off in the distance, or a kangaroo-rat might dart out from a tuft beneath your feet, but these were rare circumstances.
The kangaroo-rat is a small animal, never reaching, at its utmost growth, more than fourteen or fifteen pounds, and its usual size is not above seven or eight pounds. It joins to the head and bristles of a rat the leading distinctions of a kangaroo, by running when pursued on its hind legs only, and the female having a pouch.
Not a vestige of life, not even the horned-toad or the trail of the kangaroo-rat is to be seen. Half a dozen graves marked each by a wooden cross or a rock monument are in sight. Who are they? Ask the simoom that sweeps like a cruel furnace blast over this forsaken region. To be lost in this desert means horrible suffering, phantom-seeing, and then death.
The snake folk, brown, tiger, carpet, diamond, black, and death adder he came to know them all, from a very respectful distance; and he studied their habits and methods of progression, and of hunting, with the deepest interest. For instance, on one occasion, towards evening, Finn saw a carpet-snake pin a big kangaroo-rat, close to a fallen log.
A giant mesquite tree, piled high with clinging drifts, rose up before the crest of his wave, and as he plowed in between them the edge of the crest poured down in a whispering cascade. Then more trees loomed up, and hundreds of white bushes each mounted on its pedestal of sand; and at the base of each salt-bush there were kangaroo-rat holes and the tracery of their tails in the dust.
As for Bill, he seemed content. Finn brought rabbits to the camp every day, with occasional bandicoots, and in the evening, sometimes, a kangaroo-rat. And, more than once, Bill took these kills from him, through Jess, and boiled them before giving them to the hounds to eat.
The name kangaroo-rat is given because of its short fore legs, strong hind legs, and the kangaroo-like leaps it makes. In temper it is very unlike the ordinary rat; it does not bite and can be safely handled, but will not live if kept in captivity. =Pocket-Gopher= The pocket-gopher lives and burrows in the fields. It is a mole-like animal but much larger than the common mole.
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