ee 
including the hair, is three feet long. It is very 
useful in South America, where it roots up the nests 
and galleries of ants and termites, and then devours 
the insects. 
In the Manzdw the whole body except the 
throat, the belly, and the inside of the legs, is clothed 
with large flat horry scales, which overlap each other 
like the scales of a fir-cone. The body and tail are 
long, and the legs short, and armed with strong 
claws. The head is small, the snout conical, the 
jaws toothless, and the tongue rather long and ex- 
Order XV. Marsupialia. 


tensile. These animals, which are useful, like the 
Ant-eaters, by destroying the nests of ants and ter- 
mites, inhabit the woods and forests of Central Africa 
and Southern Asia. 
Temminck’s Scaly Anteater (Manzs Temminckii, 
Plate XV. fig. c) is a native of Southern Africa. 
The head is short and thick, the body oval and the 
tail, which is as long as the body, is suddenly trun- 
cated at the tip. The large scales are pale yellowish 
brown, and paler at the extremity. A full-grown 
male measures about four feet in length. 
(Pouched Animals.) 
(Plate XII.) 
The Marsupialia or Pouched Animals differ | 
very much in form; some resemble dogs and martens; 
some are more like hares and other Rodents, while 
others, again, resemble Shrew-Mice. Their habits are 
equally various. Some feed on small animals, and 
others on vegetable 
matters only. Some 
are nocturnal animals, 
and extremely sensitive 
to light, while others 
only roam abroad by 
day. They are distin- 
guished from other ani- 
mals by the female 
possessing a pouch on 
the belly, in which the 
helpless young are car- 
ried for some _ time 
after birth. 
We have given 
illustrations of three of 
the families included 
in this Order. 
The Didelphide, 
or Opossums_ include 
various species, distri- 
buted over America. 
Here they live in woods 
and thickets, coming 
forth at night to feed 
on small animals and 
birds, as their large 
canine teeth would in- 
dicate. 
The Opossum 
(Didelphys virginiana, 
Plate XII. fig. c) is about as large as a Cat. 
of prehension. The Opossum gives birth to its 
young after 14 days, when it places them in the 
pouch, where it suckles them for thirty days, when 
they are pretty well developed, but they still re- 
main in the pouch for some time, and only leave 
it occasionally. 
The Phalangistide have a hairy web between 
the limbs, which serves them as a parachuce. 

Taguan, 
The 
body is rather stout, the neck is short and thick, and 
the long head gradually narrows to a pointed snout. 
The great toe of the hind feet can be opposed to 
the others; and the naked tail serves as an organ 

The Taguan (Petaurista taguanotdes) is a native 
of Australia. It has a small head and short tail, 
very large eyes and broad and very hairy ears. The 
feet are armed with strong curved claws. The fur 
is long and soft, and the tail is bushy. The colour 
varies considerably. 
The upper surface is 
generally brownish- 
black, the parachute 
sprinkled with whitish, 
the undersurface white, 
the muzzle, chin and 
paws black. This ani- 
mal sleeps by day in 
hollow trees, and seeks 
its food, which consists 
of leaves and the young 
shoots of trees, only 
at night. 
The Macropodide 
or Kangaroos have the 
hinder part of the body, 
as well as the hind 
limbs and tail, greatly 
developed, while the 
head, neck, chest and 
fore limbs are com- 
paratively small and 
weak. These animals 
are found in Australia, 
and generally frequent 
grassy or bushy places, 
but a few species in- 
habit rocky districts, 
and others may be met 
with intrees. Only some 
of the smaller species are nocturnal in their habits. 
The larger ones feed on grass and leaves during 
the day, and if disturbed, endeavour to escape by 
making prodigions leaps with the aid of their hind 
legs and tail. As they eat the grass which is required 
for the sheep, the colonists hunt them down, and they 
are now much less abundant than formerly. 
The Kangaroo (Macropus mayor, Plate XII. fig. d) 
is the largest of the family. An old male in a sitting 
posture is nearly as tall as a man, and measures, 
including the tail, above seven feet in length. It is 
hunted for its soft fine fur and delicate flesh, and is 
now disappearing from the more settled parts of 
Australia, though still common in the interior. 
