THE OPOSSUMS. 203 
Characters—Size as in D. opossum; form long, low, and 
remarkably Weasel-like ; fur straight, thick, and soft. General 
colour rich soft yellow, becoming greyish down the middle of 
the back, and brighter on the flanks and under-parts ; face like 
the back, without eye-spots or other conspicuous markings, 
but some of the hairs pencilled with brown. Upper edge of 
naked portion of muzzle with an upward rounded projection, 
sharply differentiated from the hair of the face. Ears very 
short and rounded, scarcely appearing above the level of the 
fur, the inner edge with a long conical projection at the base, 
and their substance thick, fleshy, and covered, except on the 
margins, with dark yellow hairs. Pouch wanting. Teats nine. 
Limbs very short, coloured like the body, but the feet browner; 
feet short, with the pads small and narrow, and the outermost 
hind toe reaching only to the middle of the first joint of the 
fourth. ‘Tail extremely thickened at the base, where it ap- 
pears to pass imperceptibly into the body ; its basal half haired 
like the body, elsewhere short-haired, except for some two inches 
of the lower surface of the tip, where it is naked; brown or 
black at the base, and white at the tip. Size very variable; 
the length of head and body in one specimen about 10 inches, 
and of tail 8% inches; while in another the corresponding 
dimensions are 15% and 10% inches. 
Distribution—Guiana and South Brazil, unknown in the inter- 
mediate districts, and Argentina. 
This species may be easily recognised by its Weasel-like 
form, uniformly coloured head, short ears, and thick hairy tail. 
The variation in size is very remarkable, being so great that 
some specimens are double the bulk of others of the same 
sex; the Brazilian examples being, according to Mr. Thomas, 
generally much larger than those from Guiana. Drde/phys 
turnert was founded on an abnormal specimen with only four 
pairs of upper incisor teeth, 
