MARSUPIALIA. 
53 
low, hair-covered bodies, long snouts and tongues, large ears, 
stout powerful tails, and short thick limbs. They have four 
toes on their fore, and five on their hind feet, all modified for 
digging, their manner of life being very similar to that of the 
Great Anteater, as they feed chiefly on ants and other small 
animals. An adult specimen placed in Case 34 will show 
the eurious appearanee of these animals, which induced the early 
Duteh settlers in the Cape to compare them to pigs, and to name 
them Aard-varks, i. e. Ground-pigs. 
Order XL MARSUPIALIA. 
(Cases 95-98.) 
This Order differs by numerous and important anatomical 
characters from all the previous Orders. There is, moreover, a 
curious parallelism between its members and the preceding Orders, 
inasmuch as the Marsupials include forms representative of the 
herbivorous, carnivorous, and insectivorous types of the other 
Alammalia, a fact which must appear to be all the more significant 
as the oldest Mammalia known, from the Secondary period, are 
jMarsupials, which then w^re spread probably over the greater 
portion of the globe, and lived in numerous genera and species in 
Great Britain and other parts of Europe. 
The females of most Marsupials * possess a peculiar pouch of 
skin on their bellies, a character which gives the name to the 
Order. In this pouch the young, which are in a very embryonic 
condition when born, continue their development, adhering at first 
firmly to the nipples, and using the pouch afterwards for a long 
time as a place of refuge until able to take care of themselves. In 
fact, functionally, the pouch of a Marsupial corresponds to the nest 
constructed by a mammal or a bird for its progeny. 
The geographical distribution of this Order is highly remarkable, 
one family out of seven being found in South America, while all 
the rest are entirely confined to the Australian region. 
The families generally recognized are ; — I. The Kangaroos 
{Macropodidce) (Cases 95 and 96), herbivorous animals with dis- [Cases 
proportionately large hind limbs and long powerful tails, both of ^ 
which they use in leaping or in assuming an erect position, putting 
* = a pouch. 
