176 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



having only been described in 1891. In general form it is quite 

 Mole-like, with very short limbs, in which the second and third toes 

 in the fore-foot are greatly developed at the expense of the other three, 

 and bear enormous claws. The muzzle is shorter than in the true 

 Moles, and has a callous pad at the tip; the eyes are covered by the 

 skin. 



The teeth are very peculiar, though on the whole conforming 

 to the general type of the carnivorous Marsupials. The canines, 

 however, are small, and the teeth vary remarkably in number, being 

 sometimes different on the two sides of the jaw. This creature lives 

 in the dry and arid districts of Central Australia ; it is essentially a 

 burrower, and very few specimens have ever been captured. 



THE RATON RUNCHO 



(Canolestes obscurus) 



THE "Opossum Rat," to give this animal an English name, is, except 

 its relative Ccznolestes fuliginosus, the only living representative of 

 the family Epanorthidce, though these are well known as fossil 

 animals. Only one specimen of each of the living species has ever 

 been taken, and C. fuliginosus was described fifty years ago, from 

 Ecuador. The " Raton Runcho " was captured at Bogota, and is 

 about the size of a small Rat, and resembles one in shape and is of 

 a dark colour. On the fore-paws it has five toes, the first and fifth 

 bearing nails instead of claws ; the hind-feet have practically only four 

 toes, the first being rudimentary. 



The teeth are very remarkable ; in the upper jaw are several incisors 

 and well-developed canines, as in the carnivorous Marsupials ; but in 

 the lower jaw we find the two great projecting incisors of the vege- 

 tarian Phalangers and Kangaroos, the canines are very small, and the 

 grinders also are like those of Phalangers. There is, however, no 

 union between the second and third toes of the hind-foot, which are 

 free, as in carnivorous Marsupials. Moreover, the creature, which is a 

 climber, is said to live on small birds and their eggs, so that to a 

 certain extent it unites two great Marsupial divisions, though it must 

 be referred rather to the herbivorous section as far as structure goes. 



