CHAPTER III.. The Opossums.

THE OPOSSUMS.

Prehistoric Opossums--Description of the Animal--Their Teeth--Habits--THE COMMON OPOSSUM--Appearance--Use of its Tail--Food--The Young--How they are Reared--D’AZARA’S OPOSSUM--THE CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM--THE THICK-TAILED OPOSSUM--MERIAN’S OPOSSUM--Pouchless Opossums--Their Young--THE MURINA OPOSSUM--THE ELEGANT OPOSSUM--THE YAPOCK--Classification of Marsupial Animals--Geographical Distribution of the Sub-Order--Ancestry of the Marsupials--Fossil Remains 219

SUB-ORDER--MONOTREMATA.