Fig. 6.19.

John Gould’s Numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) from The Mammals of Australia was painted by his artist Henry Richter in 1845. Richter produced ∼3000 lithographic plates and watercolours for Gould. The Numbat first became known to Europeans in 1831. George Moore, a member of a group then exploring the Avon Valley, recounted the discovery: ‘Saw a beautiful animal; but, as it escaped into the hollow of a tree, could not ascertain whether it was a species of squirrel, weasel, or wild cat …’ On the following day, Moore noted: ‘chased another little animal, such as had escaped from us yesterday, into a hollow tree, where we captured it; from the length of its tongue, and other circumstances, we conjecture that it is an ant-eater.’ Moore’s observation was close to the mark: Numbats eat termites. Source: Wikimedia Commons.