142 NATURAL HISTORY [chap xxvii. 



The four remaining mammals are Marsupials, an order 

 of the class Mammalia, which is very characteristic of tlie 

 Australian fauna ; and these are probably true natives of 

 the Moluccas, since they are either of peculiar species, or 

 if found elsewhere are natives only of New Guinea or 

 North Australia. The first is the small flying opossum, 

 Belideus ariel, a beautiful little animal, exactly like a 

 small flying squirrel in appearance, but belonging to the 

 marsupial order. The other three are species of the 

 curious genus Cuscus, which is peculiar to the Austro- 

 Malayau region. These are opossum-like animals, with a 

 long prehensile tail, of whicli the terminal half is generally 

 bare. They have small heads, large eyes, and a dense 

 covering of woolly fur, which is often pure white Avith 

 irregular black spots or blotches, or sometimes ashy brown 

 with or without white spots. They live in trees, feeding 

 upon the leaves, of which they devour large quantities. 

 They move about slowly, and are difficult to kill, owing to 

 the thickness of their fur, and their tenacity of life. A heavy 

 charge of shot will often lodge in the skin and do them no 

 harm, and even breaking the spine or piercing the brain 

 will not kill them for some hours. The natives everywhere 

 eat their flesh, and as their motions are so slow, easily 

 catch them by climbing ; so that it is wonderful they have 

 not been exterminated. It may be, however, that their 

 dense woolly fur protects them from birds of prey, and the 



