viv^^ ADDER FOR CLIMBING THE FAMILY TREE 

 OF THE NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS 



ORDER OF POUCHED MAMMALS 



'^^^ Marsupialia 



Family Didelphia 



(Number of North American Species, One) 



The females of this family carry 

 their young, when first born, in a 

 pouch on the lower part of the abdomen. They have four 

 handlike feet, and a tail which is used like a hand {pre- 

 hensile, the Wise Men call this sort of tail). These animals 

 live on the ground and in trees. They are both flesh, fruit, 

 and insect eaters. 



Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana. 



Length of body, 17 inches ; tail, 11-12 inches. 



ORDER OF SEA COWS 

 Sirenia 



(Number of North American Species, Two) 



Family of Manatees 

 Manatidae 



(Number of North American Species, One) 



Clumsy animals of southern rivers, feeding upon water 

 plants. 



American Manatee , Manatus americanus. 



Length, 8-10 feet 

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