494 



ZOOLOGY 



SECT. 



The Opossums {Diddphyidce, Fig. 1107) are arboreal, rat-like 

 Marsupials, with elongated naked muzzle, with well-developed, 

 though clawless, opposable hallux, and elongated prehensile tail. 

 A marsupium is sometimes present, but is absent or incomplete 



in the majority. One 

 species — the Water 

 Opossum — has the toes 

 webbed. The Dasyu- 

 ridm (Australian Na- 

 tive Cats, Tasmanian 

 Devil, Thylacine, &c.) 

 often have the pollex 

 rudimentary, the foot 

 four-toed, the hallux, 

 when present, small 

 and clawless, and the 

 tail non - prehensile. 

 There, is a well-de- 

 veloped marsupium. 

 The Native Cats (Fig. 

 1108) and their near 

 allies are cat-like 

 animals, the largest 

 equal in size to a 

 Domestic Cat, some no larger than Rats or Mice ; the Tasmanian 

 Devil has a more thickset body ; the Thylacine has a remark- 

 able resemblance in general shape, as well as in size, to a Wolf. 

 The Banded Anteater {Myrmecobius) is devoid of the marsupium. 



Fig. 1107.— Virginian Opossum {Diddphys virginiana). 

 (After Vogt and Specht.) 



Fig. 1108. — Dasyure {Dasyurus viverrinus). (After Vogt and Specht.) 



The Bandicoots (Peramelidce) are burrowing Marsupials, the 

 size of which varies from that of a large Eat to that of a Rabbit. 

 They have an elongated, pointed muzzle, and, in some cases, 

 large auditory pinnse. The tail is usually short, sometimes long. 



