THE OPOSSUM 47 



agree with the wolf and fox in having no " great toe " at 

 all, while the other four toes of the hind foot are of 

 nearly equal size. The largest of the group only inhabits 

 Van Diemen's Land, and is known as the " Tasmanian 

 wolf." Some of its teeth are quite like those of the true 

 wolf, to which it was naturally at first thought to be 

 more or less closely allied. Thus, if the wombat and pha- 

 langers had some claim to be considered rodents, the 

 creatures just noticed had at least as much claim to be 

 included in the old order carnivora. Other beasts were 



FIG. ii. 



THE TASMANIAN WOLF. 



found, however, which could advance similar claims to be 

 associated with those before known insect-eating beasts, 

 the insectivora, for, like the latter, their grinding tetvh 

 bristled with sharp points wherewith to pierce the hard 

 skin in which most insects are encased. Some of these 

 Australian insect-eaters are known as " phascogales," and 

 are of the size of a rat, or yet smaller. Others are 

 known as " bandicoots," and some of these exceed the 

 hare in size. They are interesting, as we shall shortly 

 see, because they have the hind limbs longer than the 



