586 New Publications. 



habits, as it is more peculiar to the sea-coasts than to the interior of 

 Guiana. 



The Yawarri cusinai of the Macusi Indians, or Picanappa of the 

 Warraus (Didelphis philander, Temm.) has an extensive range in Guiana. 

 It is met with in the coast regions as well as in the interior. It resem- 

 bles in size a full-grown rat; the fur, short and silky, is of a rust- 

 colour, lighter beneath the belly ; length of the body nine inches, tail 

 ten inches and a half, clothed with fur for about two inches, the remain- 

 der naked and of a uniform brown colour. A deep furrow divides the 

 nostrils, and the eyes are brown and very prominent, and surrounded 

 by a reddish spot. Possessing all the peculiarities of its tribe, it ap- 

 pears to be more lively than the rest, and climbs with the alacrity of a 

 squirrel. Although I have seen many in the day time, I am inclined 

 to think that the night is their favourable time for going abroad in 

 search of food. I have had tame ones that slept the greater part of the 

 day. In their wild state they live principally on fruits and insects, 

 but I have been assured by the Indians that they have the art of sur- 

 prising small birds, and in this I am corroborated by Mr. Vieth, who 

 found animal food in their stomach. In a tame state scarcely any thing 

 comes amiss ; boiled rice, yams, flesh, and fish seem equally agreeable 

 to them. 



One of the Opossums of that species which I had in a tame state was 

 a female. It was kept in a bird cage of wire-work which permitted me 

 to watch its habits. I have already observed that it passed the greater 

 part of the day in sleeping, and that it fed alike upon fish or flesh. It 

 might have been in my possession for about a fortnight, when one 

 morning, * on feeding it, I observed five young ones of the size of a 

 new-born mouse crawling about in the cage. They were perfectly naked 

 and blind. The mother allowed them to crawl about and did not ap- 

 pear to care for them. Next morning I found only four ; the fifth had 

 been eaten by the mother during the night ; the four remaining ones had 

 however returned to the pouch. The succeeding night two more were 

 eaten by the mother, and the last two were crawling about in a helpless 

 state, and the following day fell a prey to the voracity of their unnatural 

 mother. It is remarkable, that although I had the animal longer than 

 a fortnight, I never was aware that it had young ones until I found 

 them crawling about, and it remains now a riddle to me how the mother 

 could secrete them so well. I thought her with young all the time, but 

 had no idea that they were already in a state so far advanced. Confine- 

 ment no doubt was the reason of her acting so cruelly towards her 

 offspring. She died a few weeks after. 



