364 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



consumed, played an impor- 

 tant part in the unusally 

 frequent occurrence of this 

 phenomenon. 



The ring-tailed opossums 

 differ essentially from the com- 

 mon opossum or phalanger 

 and its allies in their life 

 habits. While these latter 

 habitually take up their abode 

 and bring forth their young 

 in hollow trees, the ring- 

 tailed species construct a 

 regular nest of interlaced 

 sticks, leaves, grass, or any 

 other available material for 

 their domicile. The struc- 

 ture much resembles the nest, 

 or " drey," of our own fa- 

 miliar squirrel, and may 

 be perched high up among 

 the tree branches or within, 

 only a few feet from the 



ground among the scrub thickets. In New Guinea a variety of these ring-tailed phalangers 



occurs, not found in Australia, which has no white tip to its tail, and the ears are very short 



and wide. The group as represented by this species leads to the consideration of the so-called 



CUSCUSES or typical phalangers indigenous to New Guinea and North Queensland, though but 



rarely seen there, which, as an exception to the Marsupial Tribe, are distributed among the 



Indo-Malay Islands as far westward as Celebes. In the cuscuses the tail is altogether naked, 



and pre-eminently prehensile throughout 



almost its entire terminal moiety ; the ears 



are round and, proportionately, exceedingly 



small ; while the fur is very short, thick, 



and woolly. Compared with the opossums 



or phalangers, the cuscuses are very dull 



and sluggish in their movements, creeping 



slowly among the branches of the trees to 



browse on the fruit and leaves which i^B 



constitute their principal diet. Like the 



opossums, however, or even to a greater 



extent, they vary this vegetarian regimen 



with insects or an occasionally captured bird. 



fhtl, b, 1C. Savlllf-Ktnt, F. Z. U. 



FRONT. VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER 

 Displays the bare under-surface of the prehensile tail 



THE CUSCUSES 



The familiar SPOTTED Cuscus of New 

 Guinea is the most ornate marsupial 

 mammal. The males, more especially, are 

 as variegated in colour as a tortoiseshell cat, 

 their tints, moreover, closely corresponding 

 in hue with those of the feline. No two 

 individuals, however, are precisely alike in 

 this respect. Usually the ground-colour of the 



Phtto fy If. Savilll-Kint, F.Z.S 



PROFILE VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, 

 OR PHALANGER 



The opossums are usually shot by moonlight, as seen silhouetted against 

 iht sky 



