VERTEBRATA : MAMMALIA. 



667 



hers. The dentition of the Opossums (fig. 366) is remarkable 

 for the great number of the incisor teeth, the dental formula 

 being 



5-5 ,5ml; /w 3-3 .,,4-4 

 44 i i 33 



;;/ - - = so. 

 44 



The canines are well developed, and the crowns of the 

 molars are cuspidate. 



Fig. 366. Dentition of Opossum (Didelphys). 



The Banded Ant-eater {Myrmtcobius fasciatus) is a small 

 but extremely elegant little animal, which inhabits Western 

 and Southern Australia, and lives upon insects (fig. 367). The 

 tail is bushy, and differs from that of the Didelphida in not 

 being prehensile. The fore-feet have five toes armed with 

 claws ; the hind-feet have only four toes. The Myrmecobius 

 is remarkable for the extraordinary number of molar teeth, in 

 which it exceeds any existing Marsupial, and is only surpassed 

 by some of the Armadillos. The dental formula is 



44 . 



I T 



c ; pm 2- ; vi 



~ ~ 33 



66 

 66 



= 54- 



e. Sarcophaga. This is the last section of the existing Mar- 

 supials, and includes a number of predaceous and rapacious 

 forms, which fill the place held elsewhere by the true Carnivora. 

 They are distinguished by the fact that the intestine is desti- 

 tute of a caecum, and by their strictly carnivorous dentition, the 

 canines being strong, long, and pointed, whilst the molars and 

 prsemolars have cutting edges furnished with three cusps (fig. 

 364, C). The best-known species of this section are the Thy- 

 lacinus cynocephalus and the Dasyurns ursinus. The former 

 of these is the largest of the rapacious Marsupials, being about 

 as big as a shepherd's dog. It is a native of Van Diemen's 

 Land, and is known to the colonists as the " hyaena." Its head 



