i52 



BULLETIN 56, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Cranial and dental characters. — The nasals, with individual ex- 

 ceptions, terminate posteriorly in a pointed angle, the portion ante- 

 rior to the point of greatest expansion being as long as or a little 

 longer than the anterior half of the basal rhomboid. (See tabulated 

 cranial measurements, p. 155.) 



Remarks* — Doctor Allen observes: Didelphis measmericana texen-. 

 sis differs markedly from I>. virginiana in the color and markings 

 of the head and in its much longer tail, but presents no notable 

 cranial differences. It differs from 1>. marsupialis in the form of the 

 nasals, in its somewhat longer tail, and in the great predominance of 

 the black phase, the prevailing phase in I>. marsupialis being gray. 



Habits. — This opossum was found only in the region about Fort 

 Clark, Texas, where it was extremely abundant, the gray and black 

 phases being about equally represented. They were especially numer- 

 ous on Las Moras Creek, where much of my trapping was done, and 

 where it proved an annoyance by invariably getting into traps set for 

 raccoons, armadillos, and other more valuable species. A female 

 taken April 12, 1898, contained young in its marsupium. The range 

 of this species extends west to the Devils River, or, possibly, to the 

 Pecos, beyond which no opossums were heard of. Its Texas range 

 appears to be coincident to that of the Texas persimmon. 



When hunting at night along the streams of Texas we sometimes 

 came upon an opossum clinging to the branch of a buttonbush near 

 the water and added it to our night's catch. Once we had a " 'possum 

 dinner " at the officers' club at Fort Clark, and all Avere agreed that 

 'possum well cooked tasted good to hungry men. 



Measurements of !> specimens of Didelphis mesamericana texensis. 



Locality. 



FortClark, Kinney C< 



do 



.do. 

 .do . 

 .do . 

 .do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 

 .do. 



Hate. 



Sex and 

 age. 



1893. 

 Jan. 18 

 ....do... 

 Jan. 29 

 Jan. 30 



Feb. 1 

 Feb. 2 

 ....do.. 

 Feb. 10 

 Feb. 25 



? im. 

 9 ad. 

 o* iin. 

 cf ad. 

 e ad. 

 d jur. 

 ? im. 

 S jur. 

 cf ad. 



III III . 

 49 

 53 

 is 

 53 

 51 

 15 

 52 

 44 

 50 



