760 



EVOLUTION OF ANIMALS 



Part V 



Fig. 37.8. Opossum {Didelphis virginiana). A prehensile tailed marsupial about 

 the size of a large cat, common in the southern United States. When it is born the 

 young opossum is strikingly undeveloped and considerably smaller than the honey- 

 bee. At birth, it immediately clambers into the pouch, similar to the more familiar 

 one of kangaroos. It climbs by hand-over-hand movement through its mother's 

 hair until it reaches the pouch where it remains attached to a nipple for over two 

 months. (Courtesy, American Museum of Natural History, New York.) 



