THE YAPOGK OPOSSUM. 
397 
always takes care to twine its tail firmly round the nearest object that is capable of affording 
a firm hold, and thus secures itself against any unfortunate slip of its paws. 
On the level ground its pace is slow, and its gait awkward. It is, however, seldom seen 
upon the ground, as it is unwilling to forego the advantages of its arboreal residence, except 
for the purpose of obtaining food. Like 
the Virginian Opossum, it feeds chiefly 
on animal food, such as the smaller 
mammalia, birds, reptiles, and insects, and 
is so fond of Crustacea, that it has been 
called the Crab-eater from that predilec- 
tion. As the crabs and other crustaceans 
on which it feeds are usually found upon 
low and marshy soils, the Crab-eating 
Opossum is in the habit of frequenting 
such localities, and may generally be found 
in their neighborhood. 
This animal is held in some estimation, 
as furnishing an agreeable meal to those 
who care for such diet, and its flesh is said 
by the initiated to resemble that of the 
hare. The young of the Crab-eating 
Opossum are, during their days of infancy, 
colored very differently from the adult 
animal. When first they are born, they 
are entirely naked, but when they are 
large enough to leave the pouch, they 
are clothed with short silken hairs of a 
bright chestnut brown, which, after a 
while, fades into the dark brownish-black 
of the full-grown animal. In all cases the 
tinting of the fur is rather variable. yapock opossum .- cheirmectes vanegatus. 
The Crab -eating Opossum is found 
very numerously in the Brazils, and is spread over the whole of tropical America. 
Last, and most singular of this group of animals, is the Yapock Opossum, a creature 
which, abandoning the arboreal life in which its relations so much delight, shifts its residence 
to the river-banks, and passes an existence almost wholly aquatic. 
It is a curious looking animal, and even by the bold markings with which its fur is 
diversified, is easily distinguishable from any other Opossum. Upon the coat of this animal, 
the two contrasting hues of gray and sooty-black are so nearly balanced that it is almost 
impossible to choose either of them as the ground tint and the other as the accessory. 
