4So POUCHED ANIMALS 



reality a development of one of the wrist bones, which is 

 much elongated, so as to support the web. This is but 

 another illustration of the oft-repeated axiom that there is 

 no waste in nature. In point of colour the Yapock is 

 the most striking of all the Opossums, the hue of the fur 

 being grey, crossed by four bands of deep black, and 

 having a band of the same colour running along the spine, 

 and spreading into a large patch on the top of the head. 

 It is an active swimmer, chasing and catching fish in their 

 own element. In consequence of its powers in the water, 

 it often goes by the name of Otter, and even Buffon failed 

 to detect its marsupial nature, describing it as the Little 

 Otter of Guiana. 



