MAMMALIA 



263 



nal pouch where the young one, soon hatching, is carried 

 for some weeks. 



Pouched Mammals (Marsupialia or Didelphia). The 

 marsupials, though 

 not oviparous , ap- 

 proach that condi- 

 tion inasmuch as the 

 young are born in a 

 very immature condi- 

 tion and in most cases 

 are carried in the 

 pouch by the female 

 several weeks. The 

 largest species of the 

 kangaroos dwelling in Australia is the boomer, standing four 

 feet high and capable of clearing twenty feet at a single 

 bound. The opossums are the only marsupials living in 

 North America. The one representative in the United 



FIG. 299. Virginia opossum. Photograph by 

 N. F. Davis. One eighth life size. 



FIG. 300. The spiny ant-eater (Kchidna). Photograph one fourth life size. 



