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THE OPOSSUMS. 195 
tion of young born in the imperfect and helpless condition 
characteristic of all the Marsupials, is hard indeed to divine. 
In the case of the Opossums, the young of many species, after 
becoming detached from the teats, are enabled to travel about 
' with her by twisting their prehensile tails round the tail of their 
parent ; but it will be obvious that they are by no means so 
secure or well protected as they would be in a warm and com- 
fortable pouch. 
With the exception of the aquatic Yapock, or Water-Opossum, 
the members of the family are mainly arboreal animals, spend- 
ing the hours of daylight concealed among the foliage or in the 
hollows of the trees they frequent, and only issuing forth at 
night to procure food. <A few species belonging to the sub- 
generic group Leramys are, however, more or less terrestrial in 
their habits ; and it is a remarkable fact that some of the nor- 
mally arboreal species have extended their range to the open 
pampas of Argentina, where they have from necessity been 
forced to adopt a mode of life foreign to their nature, and 
thus affording an instance of the pliancy and adaptability 
of animals. Whereas the normally terrestrial species alluded 
to above resemble the Shrews both in appearance and mode of 
life, the majority of Opossums may be more aptly compared, 
as regards their 7d/e in nature, with the Tree-Shrews ( Zzpaza) 
of the Oriental region and the Broad-footed Pouched Mice of 
Australasia. 
As regards their food, the smaller species feed mainly or ex- 
clusively on insects, which also constitute a considerable pro- 
portion of the nutriment of the larger kinds. ‘These latter, 
however, also prey upon the smaller reptiles, as well as birds 
and their eggs; being, in fact, almost omnivorous. For the 
capture and comminution of insect prey the sharp teeth of these 
animals are especially adapted; the large number of cusps on the 
molars being just the structure best suited for piercing the hard 
O 2 
