80 THE OPOSSUMS. 



hairs on upper parts of body deep brown, or blackish 

 at the tip ; longer interspersed hairs, white, or 

 tipped with brown ; tail covered at the base with 

 fur like that of the body, the remaining portion 

 with scales of a whitish colour; ears large, naked, 

 black, margined with white at the tip. The hairs 

 of the moustaches are thick and very long, some 

 of them are white and others black : five or six 

 hairs of the same character spring from the cheek, 

 and there are two or three which have their origin 

 just above the eye. The length of the ears is 1 

 inch 5 lines ; that of the head, measuring from the 

 tip of the muzzle to the base of the ears, is 4 inches 

 5 lines, the length of the fore foot is 1 inch 9 lines 

 the claws not included and the tarsus is 2 inches 

 and 2 lines. 



Observations. The Virginian Opossum is one of 

 the largest species of the genus, its form is robust, 

 the head is very large, its ordinary fur is long and 

 woolly, and on the back and sides of the body very 

 long and coarse hairs are thickly interspersed with 

 those which constitute the chief clothing of the ani- 

 mal. These characters serve to distinguish the pre- 

 sent species from the greater portion of the South 

 American Opossums, which are of a slender, weasel- 

 like form, and have the fur comparatively short. 

 There are, however, several species which have the 

 same stout form, and fur of a similar character, with 

 that of the Virginian Opossum, and which, therefore, 

 may be placed in the same section ; I allude to the 

 P. cancrivora, and Z). Azarce^ both of which inhabit 



