268 THE MERIAN OPOSSUM. 



count of it *. Seba afterwards gave Merian's 

 figure for the female, and added a new figure 

 for the male, with a kind of defcriptlon. This 

 animal, fays he, has very brilliant eyes, which 

 are furrounded with a circle of deep brown hair. 

 The body is covered with foft hair, or rather 

 wool of a reddifh yellow colour, but of a bright 

 red on the back. The front, muzzle, belly, and 

 feet, are whitifti yellow. The ears are naked, 

 and pretty hard. On the upper lip, and alfo a- 

 bove the eyes, there are long hairs in the form 

 of whiikers. Its teeth , like thofe of the dormoufe, 

 are very fharp. Upon the tail of the male, 

 which is naked, and of a pale red colour, there 

 are dufky red fpots, which appear not on the tail 

 of the female. The feet refemble the hands of 

 an ape ; thofe before have the four toes, and the 

 thumb garnifhed with fhort, blunt, nails ; but 

 on the hind feet the thumb alone has a flat, blunt 

 nail, the other four toes being armed with 

 fmall fharp claws. The young of thefe animals 

 grunt nearly in the fame manner as a pig. The 

 paps of the female refemble thofe of the murine 

 opoflum. Seba properly remarks, that, in the 



figuie 



* Hie gemis glirls fylveftris deplclum eft, qui catulos quo- 

 rum vulgo quinque vel fex una foetura' enititur in dorfo fe- 

 cum portat ; ex flavo fufci coloris, at fuhucula ejus alba eft I 

 Cum antra exeunt alimenti caufa, a catulis circum curruntur, 

 quijamfaturi vcl moleftias fufpicantcs, illico matris dorium 

 afcendunt.et caudas fuas parentum cauJis involvunt, qui illos 

 (latim in antra apportant ; Mar. SM. Miria». Infea. Surinam, 

 p. 66. fg' tat. 66. 



