M 



olTF.RT. 



Other animal*, thus corresponding in application ex 

 actly to the zoological family Duiriphyube, m .-. 



note that it i . cry ciistinet L-I-IUT.I. One on 



time, Chinniri-ln. iiintains tin- curious wcb-footai 

 water-opOMUin or \.i|>ck f South America. The 

 other i I>i,trli>hy*. containing all tin- rest of the spe- 

 cies, which vary MI much in size, shape, degree of 

 development nf the mammary |nich. and other char- 

 acter* that they are nli'ii siil-dividcd into m-vera! 

 modern ireiicra. One of these contain- tin- sm 

 thnv strijied opossum of linizil. f). trutriittu*. 

 ami U called l),in in ni x or Miri-'Hlij/iliy*. \ second 

 ha a> it- ivt.c th<- tiny mouse like opossum, D. 

 fHHriiin. A tnird includes larger species character 

 ized by the absence or slight development of the 

 iouch, as in l>. ilni-tii/mi or D. ilirl'inini, the young 

 being carried on the back of the mother with their 

 tails wrapped around hers. This group is called '/ 

 iiii-hini*. and its mcmliers trade into those of the 

 fourth and last and best known division, Didetphyt 

 proper, which contains such large specie* as the crab- 

 eating opossum of tropical and subtropical America. 

 icrirorut. and our own familiar \ irginian opos- 

 sum, D. rfrijiiiiinui. 



This animal, to which we will now confine attention, 

 abounds in the Southern States, extends into the Mid- 

 dle, and has occasionally been seen as far north as 

 New York. It is about as large as a domestic cat. 

 measuring IS or L'O inches in lenirth of head and body. 

 with a tail of 12 to 14 inches j but individuals vary 

 uiueh in size. The head is conical, tapering to a long 

 snout, somewhat like a pig's ; the eyes are small ami 

 placed high up ; t he ears are large, high, rounded, thin. 

 and nearly naked. The body IS stout, and seeing still 

 thicker from the long, loose, and fluffy hair with which 

 it is covered, overlying a copious short under-fur. The 

 general color is ^pay, darkened on most parts with the 

 Ma -kish ends of the longer hairs. The limbs are short, 

 and all lour end in a kind of hand ; for the opossum 

 iimaiious. or "foot-handed." There are five 

 digits on each tin it. all with claws excepting the inner 

 toe of the hind foot, which is apposable to the others 

 like a true thumb. The hands and feet are covered 

 in part on the backs with short fur, but naked and 

 callous on the' palms and soles. The tail is long, cylin- 

 drie-ta|>ering, naked and scaly in most of its length, 

 and pcrfcci ly prehensile, so that it constitutes a service- 

 able -'filth hand " 



'flic teeth are no fewer than 50, and of 4 kinds, in- 

 dicating an omnivorous animal of carnivorous propen- 

 sitie-. like the pig. The dental formula is : i. j ; ft j ; 

 pm. J; m. J = j 1X2=50. The canines, es|>ccially the 

 upper one*, arc highly specialized. 



The sexual organs and mode of generation of the 

 opossum, so entirely exceptional among American 

 mammals (outride of the family DiddpKyuln\ have 

 given rise to wild and very gross beliefs among the 

 negroes, mine of which have been repeated beyond the 

 vulgar. Thus it is said that coition takes place in the 

 nostrils of the female ; and the young grow upon the 

 teat* in the pouch, in consctiuence of the deposit of 

 the sperm by the sneezing of the female into the pouch. 

 But the genexw of such stories is easy to trace. In the 

 male, the scrotum hangs loosely from the belly near 

 the, navel, and there are no outward si.irns of other 

 genitals. This is because the peni.s i> retractile, and 

 ordinarily withdrawn within the same sphincter which 

 guards the orifice of the anus. In copulation it urn 

 trades baa the anal orifice to the extent of about 2 

 in., and is forked at the end. It is furnished with 

 several intrinsic muscles, for protrusion, retraction, 

 'i. and the separation of the two prongs, so that 

 each fork shall enter UM corresponding (right and left) 

 il passages of the female, For in this sex the 

 d organs of generation are completely double, 

 right and left, and Inith delioiich externally by a single 

 orifice not distinguishable on ordinary ins|>ection from 

 that of the anus. So that the female, like the male, 



appears to be devoid of external genitals, and coitus 

 seems to I*' effected per anuiii. The chief peculiarity 

 of the female, externally, thus subsists in the punch or 

 i>i,irsii]*iitiii. characteristic of the whole order Mursii- 

 pitiliit. It is fully developed ill the Virginia opossum 

 as a furry IMLT on the ln-lly, formed of a diiplicature of 

 tbe skin, with its mouth directed forward, ami the 

 walls furnished with appropriate contractor m 

 In the virgin opossum the jiouch is inconspicuous, 

 and scarcely admits the ends of two or three of our 

 after liearing young, however, it is much larger, 

 so that the whole of one's lisi may ! thrust into it. 

 In.-ide the pouch, in the skin of the belly wall, are 

 the teats to the number of 13, twelve in a circle and 

 one in the middle. The young are liorn after a few 

 ' Mation (probably less than two weeks), in a very 

 imiicrfectly developed and entirely helpless state, almut 

 as large as peas. They are immediately transferred to 

 the pouch by the voluntary action of the mother, 

 either with her lips or paws, and at once each one of 

 them becomes firmly attached to a teat by the mouth, 

 hanging like berries to a stem. In this state they 

 grow rapidly, never letting go their hold until they 

 have attained some size. As soon as they are capable 

 of spontaneous actions, beyond the automatic act of 

 suction, they may let go and take hold again when 

 hungry, like the young of ordinary animals. Soon 

 after this they may be seen putting their heads out 

 of the pouch ; then their first excursions are made 

 over the body of the mother to the limbs, and especially 

 the tail, to which they cling, and retreat into the pouch 

 when alarmed as long as it is able to hold them. When 

 grown too largu for this, they ride about on the 

 mother's back in a bunch, and at length leave her to 

 shift for themselves, being at this time about the size 

 of kittens a couple of weeks old. 



The opossum is nocturnal, like most marsupials, 

 and its hunting affords, with that of the raccoon, the 

 characteristic sport of the Southern States. It is chased 

 and treed by dogs at night, and either shaken out of 

 the tree to which it takes refuge, or shot as it hangs 

 by the tail. Its flesh is palatable, and resembles pork, 

 especially in the fall, when it is chiefly hunted, and 

 when it acquires a thick layer of fat all over the body. 

 Its teeth are sharp, and capable of biting severely ; 

 but the opossum is a very timid and one of the most 

 defenceless of animals of its six.c. It is tolerably active 

 imom: trees, but its gait on the ground is a slow and 

 shuffling amble. It spends most of its time during the 

 day hiding in hollow logs and like retreats, and at 

 night forages for its food, which consists of any small 

 animals it can catch and overpower, as birds and their 

 eggs, reptiles, insects, worms, etc., as well as various IKT- 

 ries and other fruits, especially persimmons. It readily 

 ats any kind of carrion, as a dead horse or cow, and 

 lien attacks domestic poultry. It has no voice beyond 

 i kind of hissing, and a low growling when irritated. 



There remains to notice one of the most remarkable 

 f the opossum's traits its habit of feigning death when 

 t the mercy of its captors. Though ordinarily so timid, 

 no amount of torture can then draw from it a sign of 

 suffering. Such endurance, joined with remarkable 

 mining, frequently enables the creature to escape 

 what would otherwise prove its destruction ; and these 

 traits have even given to the Knglish language a pro- 

 verbial expression of peculiar significance, the phrase, 

 "Playing possum." (E. C.) 



Ol'PKKT, Jri.Ks, French Orientalist, was born at 

 Hamburg. July 9, 1S2.Y lie is o! Jewish descent and 

 was educated at the 1 'nhersity of Ili-ni- nil, 



ind Berlin. In 1X47 he took the degree of I'll. !>., at 

 be I 'niversity of Kiel, and then studied chiefly the 

 /end language and literature. lici'ig excluded from 

 irotcssorship in > '< rman universities on account of his 

 religion, he went to France, where he became prole- 

 of (iernian at lival and at Kheims. lie was sent in 

 I S.'.L' on a scientific- expedition to Mesopotamia, and on 

 his return was naturalized as a Frenchman. In 1X54 



