328 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
= ~«consumed, played an impor------------ 
tant part in the unusally 
frequent occurrence of this 
phenomenon. 
The ring-tailed opossums 
differ essentially from the com- 
mon opossum or phalanger 
and its allies in their life 
habits. While these latter 
habitually take up their abode 
and bring forth their young 
in hollow trees, the ring- 
tailed species construct a 
regular nest of interlaced 
sticks, leaves, grass, or any 
other available material for 
their domicile. The struc- 
ture much resembles the nest, 
or “drey,” of our own fa- 
miliar squirrel, and may 
be perched high up among 
Displays the bare under-surface of the prehensile tail the tree branches or within 
only a few feet from the 
ground among the scrub thickets. In New Guinea a variety of these ring-tailed phalangers 
occurs, not found in Australia, which has no white tip to its tail, and the ears are very sHort 
and wide. The group as represented by this species leads to the consideration of the so-called 
CUSCUSES or typical phalangers indigenous to New Guinea and North Queensland, though but 
rarely seen there, which, as an exception to the Marsupial Tribe, are distributed among the 
Indo-Malay Islands as far westward as Celebes. In the cuscuses the tail is altogether naked, 
and pre-eminently prehensile throughout . = 
almost its entire terminal moiety ; the ears 
are round and, proportionately, exceedingly 
small; while the fur is very short, thick, 
and woolly. Compared with the opossums 
or phalangers, the cuscuses are very dull 
and sluggish in their movements, creeping 
slowly among the branches of the trees to 
browse on the fruit and leaves which 
constitute their principal diet. Like the 
opossums, however, or even to a greater 
extent, they vary this vegetarian regimen 
with insects or an occasionally captured bird. 
ay 
Bo ae 
Photo by WU, Saville-Kent, F. Z. 8. 
FRONT VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER 
THE CUSCUSES 
The familiar SPOTTED Cuscus of New 
Guinea is the most ornate marsupial 
mammal. The males, more especially, are 
as variegated in colour as a tortoiseshell cat, y ibis a 
their tints, moreover, closely corresponding Photo by HW’, Saville-Kent, F.Z.S8 
in hue with those of the feline. No two PROFILE VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, 
eemaitg : P : OR PHALANGER 
individuals, however, are precisely alike in ; ae 
The opossums are usually shot by moonlight, as seen silhouetted against 
this respect. Usually the ground-colour of the the a 
