MARSUPIALIA. 53 



low, hair-covered bodies, long snouts and tongues, large ears, 

 stout powerful tails, and short thick limbs. They have four 

 toes on their fore, and five on their hind feet, all modified for 

 digging, their manner of life being very similar to that of the 

 Great Anteater, as they feed chiefly on ants and other small 

 animals. An adult specimen placed in Case 34 will show 

 the curious appearance of these animals, which induced the early 

 Dutch settlers in the Cape to compare them to pigs, and to name 

 them Aard-varks, i. e. Ground-pigs. 



Order XL MARSUPIALIA. 



(Cases 95-98.) 



This Order differs by numerous and important anatomical 

 characters from all the previous Orders. There is, moreover, a 

 curious parallelism between its members and the preceding Orders, 

 inasmuch as the Marsupials include forms representative of the 

 herbivorous, carnivorous, and insectivorous types of the other 

 Mammalia, a fact which must appear to be all the more significant 

 as the oldest Mammalia known, from the Secondary period, are 

 Marsupials, which then were spread probably over the greater 

 portion of the globe, and lived in numerous genera and species in 

 Great Britain and other parts of Europe. 



The females of most Marsupials* possess a peculiar pouch of 

 skin on their bellies, a character which gives the name to the 

 Order. In this pouch the young, which are in a very embryonic 

 condition when born, continue their development, adhering at first 

 firmly to the nipples, and using the pouch afterwards for a long 

 time as a place of refuge until able to take care of themselves. In 

 fact, functionally, the pouch of a Marsupial corresponds to the nest 

 constructed by a mammal or a bird for its progeny. 



The geographical distribution of this Order is highly remarkable, 

 one family out of seven being found in South America, while all 

 the rest are entirely confined to the Australian region. 



The families generally recognized are : 1. The Kangaroos 

 (Macropodidce) (Cases 95 and 96), herbivorous animals with dis- [Cases 

 proportionately large hind limbs and long powerful tails, both of 95 & 96 -] 

 which they use in leaping or in assuming an erect position, putting 

 * Marsupium = & pouch. 



