. Animate creation : popular edition of "Our living world" : a natural history. Zoology; Zoology. 370 THE VULPINE PHALANOIST. well worthy of notice. The tail is. to all appearance, entirely covered with a heavy coating of thick, long, and loose hair, but if that member be lifted up, so as to expose the under surface, and carefully examined, it will be seen that at the extremity the tail is bare of fur, and that a naked stripe runs for some little distance from the tip towards the base. During the lifetime of the animal, this naked stripe, together with the nose and the soles of the f


. Animate creation : popular edition of "Our living world" : a natural history. Zoology; Zoology. 370 THE VULPINE PHALANOIST. well worthy of notice. The tail is. to all appearance, entirely covered with a heavy coating of thick, long, and loose hair, but if that member be lifted up, so as to expose the under surface, and carefully examined, it will be seen that at the extremity the tail is bare of fur, and that a naked stripe runs for some little distance from the tip towards the base. During the lifetime of the animal, this naked stripe, together with the nose and the soles of the feet, are of a light flesh color. Pox-like in nature as well as in form, the Vulpine Piialangist has well earned the name which has been given to it by common consent. It lias also been entitled the Vulpine Opossum, and in its native country is popularly called by the latter of these names. It is an extremely common animal, and is the widest diffused of all the Australian opossumdike animals. Like the preceding animals, it is a nocturnal being, residing during the day in the hollows of decaying trees, and only venturing from its retreat as evening draws on. The nature of its food is of a mixed character, for the creature is capable of feeding on vegetable food, like the Petaurists, and also displays a consider- able taste for animal food of all kinds. If a small bird be given to a Arulpine Phalan- gist, the creature seizes it in its paws, ma- nipulates it adroitly for a while, and then tears it to pieces and eats it. It is rather a remarkable fart, that the animal is pecu- liarly fond of I he brain, and always com- mences its feast by crushing the head be- tween its teeth and devouring the brain. In all probability, therefore, the creature makes no small portion of its meals on va- rious animal substances, such as insects, rep- tiles, and eggs. As to the birds on which it so loves to feed, it may very probably, although so slow an animal, capture them in the same manner as has b


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Keywords: ., bookauthorbr, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology