OPOSSUMS. 57 



The Tasmanian Wolf (Thylacinus cynocephalus) (fig. 22), an 

 animal remarkably like a striped dog, both in its external form 

 and the general shape of its skull. For a long time it was the 

 bane of the Tasmanian settlers, owing to the havoc it created 

 among their sheep, but it has now been nearly exterminated, and 

 at no distant period it will be quite extinct. No Thylacines now 

 live on the continent of Australia, but their fossil remains have 

 been found in bone-caves in New South Wales. 



The Dasyures (Case 97) are small animals of about the size and 

 proportions of a cat. They are wholly carnivorous in their habits, 

 living on eggs, small birds and mammals, and on insects. One 

 of them is the well-known Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus ursinus], 

 which has earned its English name by its untameable disposition 

 and the damage it does to poultry and game. 



The animals named Phascologale and Sminthopsis are still 

 smaller than the last, many of them with a striking resemblance to 

 ordinary mice, both in size and colour. 



The Marsupial Anteater (Myrmecobius fasciatus) is one of the 

 few mammals marked with cross bars. It is of about the size and 

 shape of a squirrel, but has a long pointed snout and extensile 

 tongue, with which it catches ants and other small insects. It is a 

 native of Western Australia. 



6. The Opossums (Didelphyidce) are the only living extra- 

 Australian members of the Order, being limited to the American 

 continent, where they range from the United States to Patagonia, 

 the number of species being greatest in the more tropical parts . 

 Opossums are characterized by their slender build, long noses, 

 well-developed prehensile tails, and above all by their hind feet 

 being provided with a hallux or great toe, which, like that of the [Case 98.] 

 monkeys, is opposed to the other toes, and enables the animal to 

 grasp boughs or other objects ; the thumb is without nail or claw, 

 and has only a broad, flat, fleshy pad at its tip. Of the Didel- 

 phyida the most worthy of mention is the Common Opossum 

 (Didelphys marsupialis), a native of America, from the United 

 States to Brazil, and everywhere found in great abundance. It is 

 of the size of a cat, and feeds on all sorts of animal and vegetable 

 substances, living even in towns, where it acts as a natural 

 scavenger. Other South- American species are smaller, some little 

 larger than a mouse. The females carry their young on the back, 



