481 



PHALANGSR. 



Didelphis Orientalis. D. cauda ad medium fere jrilosa, corporis 

 longitudine,folliculo abdommali, plantarum digitis duobus inter- 

 mediis coadunatis. Lin. Syst. Nat. Gmel. p. 108. 



Ferruginous O. whitish beneath, with blackish dorsal line, tail 

 of the length of the body, and hairy almost to the middle, 

 and the two middle toes of the hind feet united. 



Phalanger. Buff. 



Phalanger. Pennant Quadr. 2. p. if. 







THE Phalanger is of the size of a very large 

 rat, measuring about nine inches from nose to 

 tail, and the tail measures ten inches. It is a na- 

 tive of the Molucca islands, and is supposed to 

 be unknown in America, though the Count de 

 Buffon informs us, that the specimens which he 

 examined were transmitted to him under the 

 name of Rats of Surinam. The colour of the 

 Phalanger is rufous grey on the upper part, and 

 yellowish white beneath, and along the top of the 

 head and the back runs a blackish line: the tail 

 is hairy for about two inches and a half from the 

 base, and the remainder is naked. Its voice is 

 said to resemble that of a squirrel, and it often 

 assumes the attitude of a squirrel when feeding. 

 The muzzle is rather thick : the ears short, and 

 covered with hair: in the upper jaw are eight 

 cutting- teeth, and two in the lower. 



