"
Mr C. W. de Vis, M.A., of the Queensland Museum, who has considerately
examined specimens of this rat, pronounces it to be extraordinary, in
that it combines types of three genera--the teeth of the mus, the mammae
of the mastacomys and the scales on the tail of the genus UROMYS. In the
bestowal of a name he has favoured the latter genus. The animal has been
introduced to the scientific world under the title UROMYS BANFIELDI, by
Mr de Vis, who, referring to it as "eccentric," says, "The female first
sent to us as an example of the species had no young with her, nor were
her mammae much in evidence; consequently, the advent of a specimen
caught in the act of carrying young was awaited with interest. Fortune at
length favoured our correspondent with an opportunity of placing the
correctness of his observation beyond question. (A mother with a pair of
infants attached to the teats was chloroformed and sent to Brisbane). On
arrival, the young were found detached. The conical corrugated nipples
are, compared with the size of the animal, very long; one, especially,
20 mm. in length, calls to mind a marsupial teat."
By the examination of adult specimens the age at which the young
disassociate themselves from the mother has been ascertained.
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