OPOSSUMS. 
57 
The Tasmanian Wolf (Thylacinus cynocephalus) (fig. 22), an 
animal remarkably like a striped dog, both in its external form 
and the general shape of its skull. For a long time it was the 
bane of the Tasmanian settlers, owing to the havoc it created 
among their sheep, but it has now been nearly exterminated, and 
at no distant period it will be quite extinct. No Thylacines now 
live on the continent of Australia, but their fossil remains have 
been found in bone-caves in New South Wales. 
The Dasyures (Case 97) are small animals of about the size and 
proportions of a cat. They are wholly carnivorous in their habits, 
living on eggs, small birds and mammals, and on insects. One 
of them is the well-known Tasmanian Devil {Sarcophilus ursinus), 
which has earned its English name by its untameable disposition 
and the damage it does to poultry and game. 
The animals named Phascologale and Sminthopsis are still 
smaller than the last, many of them with a striking resemblance to 
ordinary mice, both in size and colour. 
The Marsupial Anteater (^Myi'mecobius fasciatus) is one of the 
few mammals marked with cross bars. It is of about the size and 
shape of a squirrel, but has a long pointed snout and extensile 
tongue, with which it catches ants and other small insects. It is a 
native of M^estern Australia. 
6. The Opossums {Didelphyid<je) are the only living extra- 
Australian members of the Order, being limited to the American 
continent, where they range from the United States to Patagonia, 
the number of species being greatest in the more tropical parts. 
Opossums are characterized by their slender build, long noses, 
well-developed prehensile tails, and above all by their hind feet 
being provided with a hallux or great toe, which, like that of the [Case 98.] 
monkeys, is opposed to the other toes, and enables the animal to 
grasp boughs or other objects ; the thumb is without nail or claw, 
and has only a broad, flat, fleshy pad at its tip. Of the Didel- 
phyid(B the most worthy of mention is the Common Opossum 
{Didelphys marsupialis) , a native of America, from the United 
States to Brazil, and everywhere found in great abundance. It is 
of the size of a cat, and feeds on all sorts of animal and vegetable 
substances, living even in towns, where it acts as a natural 
scavenger. Other South- American species are smaller, some little 
larger than a mouse. The females carry their young on the back, 
