MARSUPIATA. 



MAH.suriATA. 



rot 



Hair of two kind* ; that which U lowest, a long fine woolly down, 

 white at the base, brow nub at the tip, through thu pan the long 

 bain of a pure white on the head, neck, and upper parU of the bod; ; 

 the hair i short and clew*. Round each eye a brownish circle. Ears 

 generally bUck at the bate and yellowinh at the tip. Whisker* long, 

 partly white, partly reddish. Extremity of the nose flesh-coloured, 

 with a tinge of yellow. l*eg* deep chmtnut browu. Tail not so long 

 a* the body, covered at the bate by long bain, but only ncnntily fur- 

 nished with bristles, which come out from between the whitish scales 

 that protect it for the greater part of iu length. 



doubtless breed* her youn- at her toaU, for I hare seen them (tick 

 fast thereto when they have been no bigger thnn a small rasberry, and 

 seemingly inanimate. She has a paunch, or falne belly, wherein she 

 carries her young, after they are from those teats, till they can shift 

 s for themselves. Their food is root), poultry, or wild fruit*. They 

 , have no hair on their tail*, but a sort of a scale, or hard crust, as the 

 ; beavers have. If a cat has nine lives, this creature surely has nine- 

 teen ; for if you break every bone in their skin, and mash their skull, 

 leaving them for dead, you may corae an hour after, and they will 

 be gone quite away, or perhaps you may meet them creeping away. 

 They are a very stupid creature, utterly neglecting their safety. They 

 are most like rats of anything. I hare, for necessity in the wilder- 

 ness, eaten of them. Their flesh it very white, ami well tasted ; but 

 ; their ugly tails put me out of conceit with that fare. They climb trees 

 | as the racoons do. Their fur is not esteemed nor used, save that the 

 Indians spin it into girdles and garters." The tail appears to be not 

 alone of use as an organ of prehension to the a^lult animal ; for it is 

 stated that the little ones when advanced in growth leap upon their 

 mother's back if they are frightened, and, twisting tin ir tails round 

 here, escape with her assistance the threatened danger. In captivity 

 the animal is sullen, snarling, and stupid. 



Teeth of Didelphyi Tirginiana. F. Cutler. 



The Virginian Opossum is an arboreal animal, as might be expected 

 from the structure of ita posterior feet or hands especially. It appears 

 to be to a certain degree carnivorous, for it preys upon insects and 

 birds, and feeds also on fruits ; but there is reason for believing that 

 animal food forms its principal support, for it sometimes invades the 

 farmyards in its neighbourhood. According to Barton, the period of 

 uterine gestation in this species is twenty-six days. It inhabits North 

 America, and was. perhaps is, very abundant in the north of Mexico, 

 and nearly throughout the United States, where it is called the 

 Opossum. In the 'Perfect Description of Virginia' (1649), we find, 

 in the catalogue of animals, " Passonnes : this beast hath a bagge 

 under her belly, into which she takes her young ones, if at any time 

 affrighted, and carries them away." Low-son says : " The Possum 

 is found nowhere but in America. She is the wonder of all the land 

 animal*, being the size of a badger, and near that colour. The female 







~ ^s 



'* 



Virginian Opossum (Didrlphys riryiniana). 



The French name Sarigue for the species of this genus is evidently 



a form of Carigueya, the Brazilian name for the genus. They are 



' known in Paraguay under the name of Micoun! ; in the American 



Islands under that of Manicou ; and in Mexico by the appellation of 



Tlaxjuatzin. 



The species of Diihlphgi are numerous, and we subjoin a tobk- of 

 their distribution from Mr. Waterhouse's ' History of Mammalia :' 



DlSTBIBl-TION OF THE SPECIK8 OF DlDELPHTS. 



The figure of the skeleton of the Virginian Op^s'iim 

 riryinia*a) which i givtn on the next page, exhibits the peculiar 



formation of the marsupial bones a well as the prehensile tail of 



this animal. 



