. The Australian zoologist. Zoology; Zoology; Zoology. DESCRIPTION AND BIOLOGY OF HYPSIPRYMNODON Musky Rat-kangaroo holds the insect in its forepaws and turns its head to one side so that the sectorial premolars can shear through the chitinous exoskeleton. With the head then directed forward, the incisor teeth are used to pull the insect apart and, with the aid of the tongue, to take it into the mouth for thorough mastication. Grooming behind the shoulder, on the flank, shoulder and neck, and in and around the ear is performed with the claws of the syndactylous toes of either hindfoot: other p
. The Australian zoologist. Zoology; Zoology; Zoology. DESCRIPTION AND BIOLOGY OF HYPSIPRYMNODON Musky Rat-kangaroo holds the insect in its forepaws and turns its head to one side so that the sectorial premolars can shear through the chitinous exoskeleton. With the head then directed forward, the incisor teeth are used to pull the insect apart and, with the aid of the tongue, to take it into the mouth for thorough mastication. Grooming behind the shoulder, on the flank, shoulder and neck, and in and around the ear is performed with the claws of the syndactylous toes of either hindfoot: other parts of the body are groomed with the claws of the forefeet or with the tongue. The usual mode of locomotion is a slow gait in which the forepaws are placed on the ground and the hindfeet are brought forward in unison beneath the body. The tail does not act as a support, as in the slow gait of kangaroos, but is held stretched out behind the animal above the ground. Fast locomotion is a version of the slow gait and, unlike the fast gait of other macropods, is quadrupedal (Fig. 9). Adult Musky Rat-kangaroos have been observed to climb on fallen branches and horizontal trees and juveniles readily ascend a thin branch inclined at about 45°, but it has not yet been possible to determine the extent to which the hallux contributes to a grip of the Fig. 9. Fast locomotion of Hypsiprymnodon moschatus. Outlines drawn from photographs of an individual in captivity at the Northern Regional Centre of the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service. At night and in the middle of the day, the Musky Rat-kangaroo sleeps in a nest in a clump of lawyer vine or between the plank buttresses of large rain- forest trees. One nest, situated on the ground against such a buttress, was 60 cm long, 20 cm wide, and 8 cm high. It had no distinct form, appearing as an untidy pile of leaves, but at one end, at ground level, there was a round opening about 5 cm in diameter leading into an intern
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1914
