MERIAN OPOSSUM. 485 



black: in its general mode of life it resembles 

 others of this genus: it produces ten or more 

 young at a birth, which immediately afterwards 

 affix themselves to the teats, and remain there till 

 they attain their proper growth and strength. It 

 is a native of South America, and particularly of 

 Surinam. 



The feet in this species are all furnished with 

 sharp claws, except on the thumbs or great toes 

 of the hind feet, which have rounded nails. It 

 is in this particular that it seems chiefly to differ 

 from the following species, or Merian Opossum. 



MERIAN OPOSSUM. 



Didelphis Dorsigera. D. cauda basi pilosa, corpore langiore, 

 digitis mamtum muticis. Lin. Syst. Nat. Gmd. p. 107. 



Pouchless O. with naked tail, hairy at the base, and the fore feet 

 without claws. 



Genus gliris sylvestris. Merian Surin. p. 66, t. 66. 



Mus seu sorex sylvestris Americanus. Seb. i. p. 48. t.^i.f. i, a. 



Philandre de Surinam. Buff'. i$-p. 157. 



Merian Opossum. Pennant Qvadr. i. p. 27. 



THIS species is so named from the celebrated 

 Madame Merian, who has introduced a figure of 

 it into her splendid work on the Insects of Suri- 

 nam. Madame Merian 's own account of the ani- 

 mal is as follows: " By way of filling up a plate I 

 have represented a kind of Wood-Rat, which al- 

 ways carries her young ones (of which there are 

 commonly five or six) upon her back: she is of a 



