364 



The Living Animals of the World 



L 



Fhotohy W. Sarillc-Knil, F.Z.S.] 



[3J ilJord-oii-Sca. 

 FEOXT \1K\\' OF GEEY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGEK. 

 Dispkiys the Ijare UDder-3Uif;ice nf the prehensilo tai]. 



consumed, played an impor- 

 tant part in the unusuallj' 

 frequent occurrence of this 

 phenomenon. 



The ring-tailed opossums 

 differ essentially from the 

 common opossum orphalanger 

 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 availal)le material for 

 their domicile. The structure 

 much resembles the nest, or 

 ■' drey," of our own firmiliar 

 European squirrel, and may 

 be perched high up among 

 the tree branches or within 

 only a few feet from the 



ground anrong the scrub thickets. In Xew Guinea a variety of these ring-tailed phalangers 



occurs, not found in Australia, which has no wliite 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 Kew Guinea and North Queensland, though but 



rarely seen there, which,- as an exception to the IMarsuj^ial Tribe, are distributed among the 



Indo-Malay Islands as far westward as Celebes. In tlie cuscuses the tail is altogether naked, 



and pre-eminently prehensile throughout 



almost its entire terminal moiety ; the ears ' T 



are round and, pro[)ortionately, exceedingly 



small ; while the fur is v^ery 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 whicli 



constitute their principal diet. Like the 



opossums, however, or even to a greater 



extent, they vary this vegetarian regimen 



with insects or an occa,sionally captured bird. 



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, 

 their tints, moreover, closely corresponding 

 in hue with those of the feline. No two riwiohun i^aniu-Kciu, f.z.6.] iJiu/oni-on-sca. 



individuals, however, are precisely alike in profile view of gkey opossu.m, or phalangek. 



,T . J TT 11 J.1 11 pji 'i"lj'3 oiiossuiDs aro nsualh' Hhot bv mootiliobt, as seen silhouetted against 



this respect. Usually tlie gTound-coiour ol the theeky. 



