494 



ZOOLOGY 



SECT. 



The Opossums {Didrlphi/i(hr, Fig. 11(17) are arboreal, rat-like 

 Marsupials, with elongated naked muzzle, with well-developed, 

 though clawless, opposable hallux, and elongated prehensile tail. 

 A marsupium is sometimes present, but is absent or incomplete 



in the majority. One 

 species — the Water 

 Opossum — has the toes 

 webbed. The Dasi/it- 

 ridfc (Australian Na- 

 tive Cats, Tasmanian 

 Devil, Thylacine, &c.) 

 often have tlie pollex 

 rudimentary, the foot 

 fuur-toed, the hallux, 

 when present, small 

 and clawless, and the 

 tail non - prehensile. 

 There is a well-de- 

 veloped marsupium. 

 The Native Cats (Fig. 

 1108) and their near 

 allies are cat-like 

 animals, the largest 

 equal in size to a 

 Domestic Cat, some no larger than Rats or Mice ; the Tasmanian 

 Devil has a more thickset body; the Thylacine has a remark- 

 able resemblance in general shape, as well as in size, to a Wolf. 

 The Banded Anteater {Myrmecohivs) is devoid of the marsupium. 



Fio. no: 



-Virginian Opossum (Diilelphys virginiana). 



(After Vogt and Speoht.) 



Fio. 1108.— Dasyure {Dasy\i.rus riveirinus). (After Vogt and Specht.) 



The Bandicoots {PcromcHdcti) are burrowing Marsupials, the 

 size of which varies from that of a large Bat to that of a Babbit. 

 They have an elongated, pointed muzzle, and, in some cases, 

 large ^auditory pinnae. The tail is usually short, sometimes long. 



