﻿THE OPOSSUMS. 213 



a white ring encircling the elbow; back of fore feet pale 

 brown, of hind feet white. Ears very large and leaf-like, with 

 the anterior basal projection small and rounded. Toes and 

 foot-pads as in the Murine Opossum. Number of teats unknown. 

 Tail long, slender, and tapering, with the basal half-inch furry, 

 elsewhere naked ; in colour grey above and whiter inferiorly. 



Length of head and body of female about 5 inches ; of tail 



7 inches. 



Distribution. — Central and Eastern Brazil. 



XIII. VELVETY OPOSSUM. DIDELPHYS VELUTINA. 



Didelphvs velutina, Wagner, Archiv. fiir. Nat., vol. viii., p. 360 

 (1842); Thomas, Cat. Marsup. Brit. Mus., p. 352 (1888). 

 Microdelphys velutina, Burmeister, Erlaut. Faun. Brasil., p. 86 

 (1856). 

 Characters.— Size small; fur peculiarly soft, crisp, and vel- 

 vety. General colour soft Mouse-grey, suffused with dull rusty- 

 brown along the sides ; face paler, with the eye-mark indis- 

 tinct ; chin yellowish- white ; chest rusty-fawn ; remainder of 

 ander-parts pale cream-colour, with the bases of the hairs dark 

 slaty, the line of demarcation between the colours being well- 

 defined ; inner sides of Hmbs and the feet coloured like the 

 under-parts. Ears large, with a slight convex anterior basal 

 projection. Fifth hind toe reaching to the end of the second 

 joint of the fourth. Tail shorter than the head and body, with 

 its basal half-inch thickly furred. Length of head and body of 

 male about 3-g- inches ; of tail -f- inches. 

 Distribution. — S. Paulo, Brazil. 



This very rare form appears separable from the Grey 

 Opossum solely on account of the shortness of the tail ; and 

 additional specimens are needed to show whether this feature 

 is constant. 



