481 
PHALANGER. 
DIdelphls Orientalis. D. cauda ad medium fere pilosa, corporis 
longitudine,folUcido abdominali, plmitarwn digitis duobus inter' 
mediis coadunatis. Lin. Syst. Nat. Gmel.p. io8. 
Ferruginous O. whitish beneath, with blackish dorsal line, tail 
of the length of the body, and hairy almost to the middle, 
and the two middle toes of the hind feet united. 
Phalanger. Buff. 
Phalanger. Pennant Quadr. 2» p. 2y. > 
The Phalanger is of the size of a very large 
rat, measuring about nine inches from nose to 
tail, and the tail measures ten inches. It is a na- 
tive of the Molucca islands, and is supposed to 
be unknown in America, though the Count de 
BufFon informs us, that the specimens which he 
examined were transmitted to him under the 
name of Hats of Surinam. The colour of the 
Phalanger is rufous grey on the upper part, and 
yellowish white beneath, and along the top of the 
head and the back runs a blackish line : the tail 
is hairy for about two inches and a half from the 
base, and the remainder is naked. Its voice is 
said to resemble that of a squirrel, and it often 
assumes the attitude of a squirrel when feeding. 
The muzzle is rather thick : the ears short, and 
covered with hair: in the upper jaw are eight 
cutting' teeth^ and two in the lower. 
