D I D 
nine inches, and of the tail thirteen. The 
philander is of a reddish brown above, and 
whitish beneath; the eyes are surrounded 
with a brownish border; the mouth on each 
side is beset with very long vibrissas or whis- 
kers; down the forehead runs a brownish 
stripe ; the thumbs, on the hind feet are 
[rounded, as in most others of this genus. It 
[has ten upper fore teeth, of which the middle 
[ones are rather longer than the rest; and 
[eight lower fore teeth, the middle ones rather 
[longest, and standing distant. It is a native 
[of Surinam, and, in all probability, of several 
[.other parts of South America. 
6. Didelphis dorsigera, or Merian opossum. 
[This spe'cies is so named from the celebrated 
madams Merian, who has introduced a figure 
[of it into her splendid work on the insects of 
[Surinam. Madame Merian’s own account 
[of the animal is as follows: “ By way of till- 
ing up a plaFe, I have represented a kind of 
[wood-rat, which always carries her young 
[ones (of which there are commonly' five or 
six) upon her back : she is of a yellowish 
brown colour, and white beneath. When 
these rats come out of their hole, either to 
play or to seek their food, they run about 
[with their mother; but when they' are satis- 
rfied with food, or are apprehensive of danger, 
i they climb up again on the back of their mo- 
ther, and twist their tails round that of the 
i parent, who runs with them into her hole 
[again.” 
7. Didelphis lemurina, or lemurine opos- 
sum, This is a large species, being equal in 
size to a cat, but longer-bodied in proportion. 
! Its colour 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 ex- 
Itmnely thick, rich, and soft, scarcely yield- 
ing in elegance to that of the petaurus qr 
| 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 
Sand 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 remainder being 
|biack ; it is naked beneath to a great dis- 
tance from the tip. The general length of the 
[body is about 18 inches, of the tail about 12. 
I, 8. -Murina. In this species the tail is hairy 
[at the base, and a fold includes the teats, ft 
[inhabits South America, and eats fruit, grain, 
[fish, &c. It is slow and stupid. See Elate 
I Nat. Hist. fig. 164. 
. 9. Didelphis viverrina, or viverrine opos- 
t l sum. This animal is remarkable for its slen- 
der form ; and this? together with its sharpen- 
ed visage and long brushy tail, gives it, at first 
view, the appearance of one of the weesel 
tribe rather than that of an opossum. Its 
^general size seems to be that of a stoat, mea- 
suring about ten inches from nose to tail, 
land the tail itself about eight inches. It is im- 
possible to say critically what the various 
forms of the teeth are adapted for from the 
.general principles of teeth. In the front we 
have what may divide and tear off; behind 
those there are holders or destroyers ; behind 
•the latter such as will assist in mashing, as the 
grinders of the lion and other carnivorous 
fftriipals; and, last of all, grinders to divide 
D I D 
parts into smaller portions, as in the grami- 
nivorous tribe: the articulation of the jaw in 
some degree admits of all those motions. 
10. Didelphis petaurus, or petaurine opos- 
sum. 'I lie size, colour, and form, of the 
petaurine or great flying opossum of New 
Holland, conspire to render it one of the 
most beautiful of quadrupeds. It measures 
about 22 inches from the tip of the nose to 
the beginning of the tail, which is 20 inches 
in length, 'i he body is- about the size of a 
half-grown cat or a small rabbit, and the ge- 
neral appearance of the animal is similar to 
that of a flying* squirrel; an expansile mem- 
brane, covered with fur, stretching from the 
fore legs to the hind on each side of the body, 
and thus enabling the animal to spring to a 
considerable distance at pleasure. 
1 he general colour of this species is a very 
line sable, or deep grey-brown above, varied 
with a cast of ferruginous : beneath it is near- 
ly 7 white; a stripe of darker or blacker brown 
than the rest runs along the back from head 
to tail; the tur near the edge of the flying 
membrane on its upper part has also a darker 
tinge than on the other parts, while the edge 
itself is white, thus forming a beautiful con- 
trast of colour round the whole border of the 
membrane ; a darker or blacker shade than 
on the rest of the fur prevails on the upper 
parts of the shoulders, extending over each 
side of the neck. The tail is at least equal to 
the whole length of the head and body, and 
is extremely full of long, soft fur, of a blacker 
cast than the rest, particularly towards the 
end, where it is longer or more fleecy than 
towards the base : the whole is of a roundish 
or subeyiindric form, but from the disposition 
of the long fur, has a slightly flattened ap- 
pearance towards the extremity. ' 
11. Didelphis sciurea, -or. squirrel - opos- 
sum. This is perhaps the most beautiful 
quadruped, if we except the petaurqs or great 
flying opossum, of all the Australasian ' spe- 
cies yet discovered. In its general aspect it 
has so much the appearance of a squirrel, 
that, on a cursory view, it might readily pass 
tor such. A more exact inspection into its 
characters will, however, evince it to be a 
genuine opossum. Its size is nearly tbariof 
a common squirrel; but from the" fulness 
and particular growth of the fur. which, like 
that of the lemur, grows in a suberect man- 
ner, it appears somewhat larger. Its gene- 
ral colour is exactly like that of the sciurus 
cinereus, or American grey squirrel. A black 
stripe passes over each eye along the top of 
the head: under each ear is a black patch 
surrounded with white, the hair on the white 
part having a more soft or flocculent appear- 
ance than the black. The tail, which is pre- 
.hensile, is of the same colour with the body 
for about half its length, the remainder being- 
black. It is very full of hair, and tapers a 
little towards the extremity, but without any 
acute termination. The .eyes are black, 
rounded, and full : the ears round, shortish, 
and very thin; the whole under side of the 
animal is milk-white; the upper parts of the 
teet are also white, and the edge o the lateral 
or flying membrane, which extends from the 
fore feet to tiie hind, is edged with a blackish 
border, as in the flying squirrels. The abdo- 
minal pouch is ot considerable size, and is 
situated, as in other opossums, on the lower 
part ot the abdomen: the hind feet are fur- 
nished with a rounded, unaimed, or mutic 
D t D 5!9 
thumb. Nothing can exceed the softness 
and delicacy of this animal’s fur, which is, if 
possible, still finer than that of the petaurus, 
to which indeed, though very greatly inferior 
in size, as well as widely different in colour, 
it yet bears, a striking affinity'. It is a noc- 
turnal animal, and continues torpid the great- 
est part of the day, but during the night is 
full . of activity. In this, as well as in other 
Australian opossums, the two toes on the 
hind feet nearest the thumb or rounded one, 
are connate, or both conjoined under one 
common skin. 
12. Didelphis pygmcea, or pygmy opos- 
sum. This is by tar the most minute of all 
the opossums, and, from its diminutive size, 
not exceeding that of a common mouse, lias 
been named the pygmy opossum, it is fur- 
nished on each side the body with an expan- 
sile membrane, exactly in the manner ot the 
flying squirrel, by the. assistance of which ir 
is enabled to spring to a considerable dis- 
tance. The tur on the whole animal is ex- 
tremely fine ; the colour is a soft or palish 
brown above, and almost white beneath ; the 
edges of the flying membrane are also white ; 
the nose, feet, and ears, internally are of a 
light pink or flesh-colour ; the tail is of a flat- 
tened form, and is beautifully edged on each 
side with soft silky hairs. The opening of 
the abdominal pouch in this species is "of a 
semilunar form: on opening this receptacle 
in the specimen described in the New Hol- 
land Zoology, was discovered on each side a 
young one, large in proportion to the parent 
animal, and totally destitute of hair: they 
had, therefore, not approached to the period 
of their second birth. In such specimens as 
were not in a pregnant state, the mamma or 
teats were extremely small, and only four in 
number. The tongue in this animal is re- 
markably large and long, and of a flattened 
form; the hind feet have rounded and un- 
armed thumbs, and the two interior toes are 
united under a common skin. 
13. Macrotarsus: tail slender, naked, 
hairy at the tip, heels of the hind-feet long, 
naked, thumb-nail flat. See Plate Nat. Hist, 
tig. 166, and also the article Kangaroo. 
DIDELTA, a genus of the class and or- 
der syngenesia polygamia frustranea. The 
lyx is expanding; receptacle hone v -combed 
into parts, which retain the seeds; down 
chaffy, many- leaved. There are two species, 
annuals of the Cape. 
DIDUS, or Dodo, in ornithology, a ge- 
nusbelonging to the order of gallime. T he 
bill is contracted in the middle bv two trans- 
verse rugae; each mandible is Inflected at 
the point; and the face is bare behind the 
eyes. Only one species, the ineptus, is men- 
tioned by Linnaffis. Other naturalists have- 
added two more. 
1. The dronte, or hooded dodo (ineptus, 
Lin.), is somewhat larger than a swan, and 
near three leet in lengt h. The bill is strong, 
large, and hooked at the end; the gape 
stretches bey ond the eyes: the colour is a 
very pale blue, except the end of the up- 
per mandible, which is yellowish, and lias a 
red spot on the bend of it ; the end of the 
lower is blackish ; the h ides are white. The 
general colour of the plumage is cinereous : 
it is soft to the touch ; the belly and thighs 
are whitish. The head is large, and seems 
covered with a black hood or cowl. The 
wings, are very short, and of a yellowish ash- 
