. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. WOMBATS OR RODENT-LIKE MARSUPIALS. 68T able portion of its food. Captive specimens in the London Zoological Garden have been observed to devour dead Sparrows and pieces of meat with great pleasure, and therefore naturalists have been led to believe that they noiselessly approach sleep- ing birds and other small animals at night, after the manner of a Loris, and kill them. In some re- gions they work considerable destruction among the peaches and oranges. The social instincts are very pronounced in the Sugar Squirrel, for it is alwa
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. WOMBATS OR RODENT-LIKE MARSUPIALS. 68T able portion of its food. Captive specimens in the London Zoological Garden have been observed to devour dead Sparrows and pieces of meat with great pleasure, and therefore naturalists have been led to believe that they noiselessly approach sleep- ing birds and other small animals at night, after the manner of a Loris, and kill them. In some re- gions they work considerable destruction among the peaches and oranges. The social instincts are very pronounced in the Sugar Squirrel, for it is always found in the woods in company with others of its species. THE OPOSSUM MOUSE. The pigmy among the Climbing Marsupials is the Opossum Mouse {Acrobates pygmceus), which is prop- erly classified as a distinct genus. Its broad flying membrane extends to the lower joints of the legs. The tail, which is thickly covered with hair, is dis- tichous: that is, the hair grows parted into a double row. The ears are moderately large. The pretty little animal has about the physical proportions of a domestic Mouse, and when it sits on a branch, with its elastic membrane folded against the body, it might be mistaken for one of our dainty, though detested, rodents. The Opossum Mouse attains a length of about five and one-half inches, of which a little,more than half is the length of the tail. The short soft fur is gray-brown above, and yellowish white beneath. â The Opossum Mouse is indigenous to eastern Aus- tralia from Queensland to Victoria. Like its relatives, it feeds on leaves, fruit, buds and other tender parts of plants; and will generally devour a small insect, when it happens to come across one. It is scarcely inferior to its relatives in liveliness and activity, and few sur- pass it in ability to leap or fly over long distances with the help of the outstretched flank membrane. The little creature is said to be a great favorite with the natives as well as with the immigrants in the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
