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Show D4 ZOOLOGY OF THE VOYAGE OF TilE BEAGLE. 2. DIDELPHIS CllASSICAUDATA. PLATE XXX. Didelphis crassicaudata, Damarest, Nouv. Diet. cl'Jlist. Nat. 2d Ed. ix. p. 425. Mammalogic, p. 257, Species 303. Microun! troisicmc, ou Macrourc a grosse qncuc, Azara, Essais sur l'IIistoirc Nat. des Quad. de la Province do Paraguay, vol. i. p. 284. D. capite brevi; aut·ibus pat·vis; colore c01pm·is fitscescenti-jlavo subtt'ts pallidiore; infra oculos flavescente; cauda crass It, caput c01pusque, quoad longitudinem, fere cequanle; ad basin cmporis colore tinctd, dein nigm, ad apicem atM. DESCRIPTION.-Head short; cars small, the posterior edge emnrginatcd ncar the base, distinctly furnished with hairs; tail sl ightly exceeding the body in length, very thick at the base; tarsi small; fur moderately long, slightly harsh, and somewhat adprcsscd (much less woolly than in most Opossums): general tint brownish yellow, under parts paler; anterior angle of the eye and muzzle brown, the tip of the chin, and also the tip of the muzzle on either side whitish; on the cheeks, a little below the eyes, is a patch of yellow which extends round the angle of the mouth: about one-third of the tail is covered with fur of the same colour and character as that on the body ; beyond this the tail is black, excepting a small portion, about one inch in length, at the apex, which is white; and the hairs are short, closely ad pressed, and scarcely hide the scales which are beneath: the fore portion of each foot is brown: the hairs covering the ears on the outer side arc brownish, and those on the inner side of the ear are yellow, but towards the outer margin they are brown. "rhe hairs of the back have the basal half gray, and the apical half ochreous, terminating in yellowish brown ; on the belly and underside of neck, the hairs arc ochreous, faintly tinted with gray at the base. Length from nose to root of tail of tail from nose to car In. Lines. 1 10 3 1~ Habitat, Maldonado, La Plata, (June). Length of tarsus of car In. Lines. 1 5~ 0 The species described by Azara, under the name Mac1·mtd: a grosse qtteue, agrees so perfectly with the present animal, that I have no hesitation in referring |