148 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [Vor. XXXV. 
examination of this work shows that if Dr. Allen had exam- 
ined it closer he would have modified his statement that **the 
Philander of Seba . . . isnotan American animal, but a species 
of Phalanger from Amboyna." The first part of the descrip- 
tion of this animal is quoted from Valentino (Amdboinensis 
Animal., p. 273), and while it very probably relates to a species 
of Phalanger as Dr. Allen states, the latter part of the text 
(which is that of Seba) undoubtedly refers to an opossum. 
Such statements as **Caput, canino simile, longum protendit 
rostrum, acutisque dentibus . . . dorsum longis pilis, setaceis, 
atro spadiceis, hispidum est . . . cauda, longa, squamis rhom- 
boideis tota tegitur," surely do not refer to a Phalanger. Seba 
makes the statement that Valentino had made a great error in 
describing the animal as he did; accordingly he gives his idea 
of the same, which, with the plate (undoubtedly a Didelphis), 
shows that Seba had nothing but an opossum in mind. 
The second, Tyson's work, has been already closely examined 
by Dr. Allen, and nothing further can be said regarding it. 
The third reference, the Carigue of De Laét, I cannot examine, 
and therefore will pass over, as very likely the animal is a South 
American opossum which would not be identifiable. 
The Carigueija of Marcgrave, Piso, and Jonston is an opos- 
sum of South American origin, but both the description and 
the locality are too indefinite to be considered. 
The fifth, the Maritacaca of Pisonis, I cannot examine, but 
Ray has quoted it in its entirety, from which the same con- 
clusions as the foregoing would be entertained. 
The last, the Tlacuatzin of Hernandez (Anim. Mex., p. 330, 
1651), is an opossum which represents the form inhabiting the 
southern end of the tableland of Mexico, the Cordilleras, and 
Vera Cruz, as Mr. Nelson (Science, N.s., VIII, p. 897) has 
pointed out regarding Spermophilus variegatus Erxleben, which 
was based on an animal described by Hernandez. To quote 
from Mr. Nelson: * At the time when Fernandez made his 
observations the main area of Spanish occupation in Mexico 
was the southern end of the Mexican tableland, about the valley 
of Mexico, and thence eastward across the plains of Puebla, 
throughout the Cordillera to the hot lowlands of Vera Cruz.” 
