PHALANGISTA VULPINA. 265 



VULPINE PHALANGER. 



Phalangista vulpina. 

 PLATE XXIII. 



Phalangista vulpina, Desm., Cuv. 9 Temm., &c. 



Didelphis vulpina, Shaw, Gen. Zool. 1. pt. 2, p. 503 ; Le. 



murine Opossum, (D. lemurina,) ib. p. 487. 

 Vulpine Opossum, Pennant, Shaw, &c. 

 Wha Tapoa Roo, White, Voy. p. 278. 



Ears long and somewhat pointed; tail rather longer 

 than the body, and very bushy, most so at the base; 

 fur very loose, long and woolly, and not very soft to 

 the touch; general colour grey, on the back and 

 haunches darker, owing to there being very long 

 black hairs rather plentifully interspersed with the 

 ordinary fur ; rather less than half of the tail at the 

 base, is covered with fur of the same character, and 

 the same greyish hue as that of the body, but beyond 

 this the hairs are totally black, or smoky black ; 

 the apical half of the tail beneath, and the extreme, 

 point, are naked, the sides and upper part, however, 

 are densely clothed with long bushy fur, the hairs on 

 this part being less compact than at the base ; the 

 colour of the fur on the head is paler than that of 

 the body and has a yellow tint, this hue being very 

 conspicuous on the cheeks ; the muzzle is somewhat 

 dusky, excepting at the tip, adjoining the naked por- 

 tion, where the hairs are white ; a narrow space 

 around the eye is of the same brownish, or dusky 

 hue as the muzzle ; the chin is brownish, the throat, 



