MARSUPIALIA I DIDELPHID^. 1 1 1 



ing five feet long, and the total length of the animal nine 

 feet. 



The Genus Myrmecophaga Ant-eaters is charac- 

 terized by a long muzzle, toothless mouth, filiform tongue 

 capable of great extension, and used to penetrate ant- 

 hills and nests of termites, whence the insects are with- 

 drawn, being entangled in the viscid saliva which covers 

 it. The body is covered with much hair, and the claws 

 of the fore feet are strong and trenchant, and suited to 

 tearing open ant-nests. These animals inhabit the warm 

 and hot parts of South America. 



The Giant Ant-eater, M. jubata, Buff., is more than 

 four feet in length, grayish-brown with an oblique black 

 band edged with white upon each shoulder. Its tongue 

 can be elongated more than two feet. 



The Genus Manis Pangolins or Scaly Ant-eaters 

 of the Eastern hemisphere, has the body, limbs, and tail 

 clothed with large trenchant scales arranged like tiles. 



SUB-SECTION X. 



THE ORDER OF MARSUPIALIA, OR MARSUPIALS. 



THE Order of Marsupialia comprises animals whose 

 special characteristic is that their young are brought forth 



in an exceedingly premature state of development, and, in most instances, are received 

 into a peculiar pouch on the abdomen of the mother, where they are nourished till they 

 have acquired a degree of development corresponding to that in which other mammals are 

 born. The young, after they are able to walk, also resort to the pouch of the mother for 

 safety in times of danger. With the exception of one family found in America, the Mar- 

 supials are all confined to Australia and islands immediately adjacent ; and it is a singular 

 fact, that all the mammals of Australia, over a hundred species of which are known, belong 

 to this order. 



DIDELPHID.E, OR OPOSSUM FAMILY. This Family 

 comprises all the Marsupials of North and South Amer- 

 ica, and is peculiar to this continent. Opossums are 

 mostly small animals, the largest scarcely exceeding the 

 common cat, and the smallest but little larger than a 

 mouse. Their food consists of birds, birds' eggs, insects, and 



