487 
LEMURINE OPOSSUM. 
Didelphis Lemurina. D. cinerea, suhtus fulvescens, cauda tereti 
viUosa prehensili nigra. 
Cinereous Opossum, tawny beneath, with cylindric, black, furry, 
prehensile tail. 
Wha Tapoa Roo. Whites Journ. of a voyage to New South 
Wales, p. 278. 
Opossum from New South Wales. Bewick's Hist, of Quadr, 
New Holland Bear. Pennant Quadr. 2. p. 13. 
This is a large species, being equal in size to 
a Cat, but longer bodied in proportion. Its co- 
lour is a fine brownish or iron-grey above, and 
pale yellowish-brown beneath ; in some specimens 
nearly white : the sides of the neck and the feet 
have also a tinge of this colour: the fur on the 
whole animal is extremely thick^ rich^ and soft, 
scarce yielding in elegance to that of the Petaurus 
or Great Flying Opossum : the muzzle is short and 
roundish ; the whiskers large and black ; the ears 
upright, large, and a little inclining to a pointed 
form at the tips : the eyes bright and reddish : the 
hind feet furnished with a rounded interior toe : 
the tail, which is thick, long, and very furry, is 
prehensile, and is of the same colour with the 
body for about a fourth of its length; the remain- 
der being black: it is naked beneath to a great 
distance from the tip. The general length of the 
body is about eighteen inc4ies; of the tail about 
tw^elve. Living specimens of this beautiful ani- 
mal have been brought into England. In their 
