40 



Mr. Bennett hesitated in having recourse to them, or to the compa- 

 rative length of the tail, wlucli in one individual equals, \vithout the 

 hairs, that of the body. 



DiDELPHis Californica. Did. vellere lanato ad ajiicem nigro, 

 setis longis omnino albis exstantibus ; facie pallide brunneo-nigres- 

 cente, maculd preeoculari saturatiore ; labiis genisąue albis. 



Long. corporis cum capite, 12 unc. ; cauda, 16; a naso ad auris 

 marginėm posticam, 4į. 



DiDELPHis BREVicEPS. Did. cūpite brcviore ; vellere lanato ad apu 

 cem nigro, setis longis omnino albis exstantibus ; facie pallide 

 brunneo-nigrescente, fascid oculari a naso ad aures extensd nigrd; 

 labiis genisąue albis. 



Long. corporis cum capite, 12 unc. ; caudce, 12 ; a naso ad auris 

 marginėm posticam, 3. 



Of the former of these Opossums two specimens -vvere exhibited ; 

 of the latter, one. They are distinguished from each other at first 

 sight by the comparative length of their heads, the ears in Did. bre- 

 viceps being rather more than an inch nearer to the tip of the nose 

 than those of Did. Californica. They both belong to that section 

 of the genus which has long bristles intermingled witji and projecting 

 f ar beyond the woolly undercoat; and in both, as in the Virginian 

 and Brusilian species, Didd. Virginiana, Cuv., and Azarte, Temm., 

 the bristles are \vhite throughout their Avhole length. From the Vir- 

 ginian Opossum they are distinguished by the darker colour of the 

 face, and by the much greater length of the tail. From Did. Azarte 

 they differ by the last-mentioned character, and by the absence from 

 the face of the four spots, one over each eye and one near each car, 

 w'liich give to the head of that animal some resemblance to that of 

 Did. Opossum. 



Spermophilus spiLOSOMA. Spei~m. aiiriculis nullis ; brunneo-ru- 

 fescens, dorso parūm nigro iincto albogue crebcrrim>. gutlato ; 

 labiis, mento, palpebrisgue albis ; ventre artubusque Jlavescentibits ; 

 cauddprope apicem nigrd, alho apiculatd. 



Long. corj)oris cum capite, 5^- unc; cauda, 2į,- cavdte cum pilis, 3. 



This animal, of \vhich t\vo skins were exhibited, agrees in colour 

 and markings with the description of the American Souslik, Arctomys 

 {Spermophilus) guttatus?, Rich., published in the ' Fauna Boreali- 

 Americana,' vol. i. p. 162. But the length of the tail as compared 

 •vv-ith that of the body is so diiferent both from Dr. Richardson's 

 measurements of the American, and Pallas's of the European species, 

 that it can scarcely be considered as a variety of either. If the di- 

 mensions of the American Souslik had been taken from one specimen 

 only, it might have been suspected that its tail had been mutilated ; 

 but the measurements of two individuals- are given, in only one of 

 which does the length of the tail exceed in a tritling degree one sixth 

 of that of the body and head taken together. In the Californian 

 Souslik its length considerably exceeds one tliird of that of the head 



