94 
ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE. 
2. Didelphis crassicaudata. 
Plate XXX. 
Didelphis crassicaudata, Desmarest , Xouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. 2d Ed. ix. p. 425. 
Mammalogie, p. 257, Species 393. 
Microure troisieme, ou Macroure a grosse queue, Azara, Essais sur l’Histoire Nat. des 
Quad, dela Province de Paraguay, vol. i. p. 284. 
I), capite brevi ; auribus parvis ; colore corporis fuscescenii-jlavo subtus pallidiore ; 
infra oculos Jlavescente ; caudd crassd, caput corpusque, quoad longitudinem, ferd 
cequante; ad basin corporis colore tinetd, dein nigra , ad apicem alba. 
Description. — Head short; ears small, the posterior edge emarginated near the 
base, distinctly furnished with hairs ; tail slightly exceeding the body in 
length, very thick at the base ; tarsi small ; fur moderately long, slightly 
harsh, and somewhat adpressed (much less woolly than in most Opossums) : 
general tint brownish yellow, under parts paler ; anterior angle of the eye 
and muzzle brown, the tip of the chin, and also the tip of the muzzle on either 
side whitish ; on the cheeks, a little below the eyes, is a patch of yellow which 
extends round the angle of the mouth : about one-third of the tail is covered 
with fur of the same colour and character as that on the body ; beyond this 
the tail is black, excepting a small portion, about one inch in length, at 
the apex, which is white ; and the hairs are short, closely adpressed, 
and scarcely hide the scales which are beneath : the fore portion of each 
foot is brown : the hairs covering the ears on the outer side are brownish, 
and those on the inner side of the ear are yellow, but towards the outer 
margin they are brown. The hairs of the back have the basal half gray, and 
the apical half ochreous, terminating in yellowish brown ; on the belly and 
underside of neck, the hairs are ochreous, faintly tinted with gray at the 
base. 
Length from nose to root of tail 
of tail . . . . 
from nose to ear 
In. Lines. 
. 1 3 
. 10 3 
• 2 H 
Length of tarsus . 
of ear 
Habitat, Maldonado, La Plata, {June). 
In. Lines. 
. 1 5i 
. 0 6 
The species described by Azara, under the name Macrourk. a grosse queue, 
agrees so perfectly with the present animal, that I have no hesitation in referring 
