Phascogalé

Phascogalé, a genus of marsupial quadrupeds allied to the Dasyures (q.v.), and containing, according to the most reliable estimate, thirteen species, all of which are arboreal and insectivorous; they are spread through the Papuan islands and Australia. The best-known form is perhaps the 'Tapoa Tafa' (P. penicillata), of the size and appearance of a rat, which commits depredations in the larders of Australian colonists, and is of the fiercest disposition when meddled with. This marsupial has a curious resemblance to the rodent genus Hapalotis, also found in Australia. It may be a case of 'mimicry' between some of the species.