MAMMALS. 579 



latter have the feet webbed much like those of a duck, and they swim and 

 dive with the greatest ease. Their food is largely fishes and crabs. In 

 one — the water-opossum — this aquatic life has gone so far that the 

 animal has much the appearance of an otter, thus affording one of those 

 interesting; resemblances referred to above. 



All of the remaining pouched animals are confined to Australia, New 

 Guinea, and the adjacent islands. Some feed solely on vegetable sub- 

 stances, and some are as thoroughly carnivorous as any wolf or lion, and 

 still others have a diet of insects. 



First comes the wombat, like the prairie-dog in its burrowing habits, 

 and in the shape and structure of its skull. We shall shortly see how the 

 squirrels and their allies have the front teeth like chisels, the loss by wear 

 being constantly made good by a continual growth at the roots. The 

 wombats, like these forms, are gnawing animals, and here the same struc- 

 ture of the teeth is produced. The koala, or Australian ' bear,' on the other 

 hand, has a bear-like look, and at the same time has many of the features 

 of the sloths. It is thoroughly arboreal in its habits, climbing the trees 

 with the greatest ease, but when on the ground moving about with con- 

 siderable awkwardness and difficulty. A glance at the feet explains this. 

 They are armed with long, curved claws, and in the fore feet the toes, 

 something like those of the chameleon described on page 406, are divided 

 into two bunches, two toes being opposable to the other three in much the 

 same way that our thumb is related to our fingers. 



The various species of cuscus most nearly resemble the opossums of 

 any of the eastern forms. They have the same prehensile tail, the termi- 

 nal half of which is bare. They also live in trees, moving about slowly 

 and feeding upon the leaves, of which they devour large quantities. They 

 possess great vitality, and are not easily killed with a gun. A charge of 

 shot frequently will be stopped by the thick fur, and even breaking the 

 spine or piercing the brain will not kill them for some hours. They are 

 hunted by the natives for food. Their slow motions render it an easy 

 task to capture them by climbing. Their fur, too, is highly esteemed, and 

 is used in the manufacture of ornaments for the person — clothing is 

 scarcely necessary for the natives of these warmer climes. A relative of 

 the cuscus — the sugar-squirrel — is noticeable from the fact that it has 

 the same habits as our little flying-squirrel. Like it, it lives in the trees, 

 and it has the same web of skin between the legs, and the same flattened 

 tail. Like the flying-squirrel, it takes long, sailing leaps from the trees. 

 There are also larger forms which are more like the taguan, to be men- 

 tioned farther on. Still other forms must be mentioned from their 

 resemblance to dormice. 



