. The naturalist's library : containing scientific and popular descriptions of man, quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles and insects . of the animal, furnishing the means of directing its course, andwarning it of the presence of bodies which otherwise might not be discovei-ed until too late. The mouth of the opossum is very wide when open, yet the animal doesnot drink by lapping, but by suction. The wideness of the mouth is ren-dered very remarkable, when the female is approached, while in companywitn ncr young. She then silently drops the lower jaw to the greatest dis« MAMMALIA —OPOSSUM. 215 t
. The naturalist's library : containing scientific and popular descriptions of man, quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles and insects . of the animal, furnishing the means of directing its course, andwarning it of the presence of bodies which otherwise might not be discovei-ed until too late. The mouth of the opossum is very wide when open, yet the animal doesnot drink by lapping, but by suction. The wideness of the mouth is ren-dered very remarkable, when the female is approached, while in companywitn ncr young. She then silently drops the lower jaw to the greatest dis« MAMMALIA —OPOSSUM. 215 tance it is capable of moving, retracts the angles of the lips, and shows thewhole of her teeth, which thus present a formidable array. She then uttersa muttering kind of snarl, but does not snap, until the hand, or other object,be brought very close. If this be a stick, or any hard or insensible body,she seldom closes her mouth on it after the first or second time, but main-tains the same gaping and snarling appearance, even when it is thrust intoher mouth. At the same time, the young, if they have attained any size &:^. either exhibit their signs of defiance, take refuge in the pouch of the mother,or, clinging to various parts of her body, hide their faces amidst herlong hair. The general color of the opossum, is a whitish gray. From the top oftlie head, along the back, and upper part of the sides, the gray is darkest;and this color is produced by the intermixture of coarse white hairs, upwardsof three inches long, with a shorter, closer, and softer hair, which is whiteat base, and black for about half an inch at tip. The whole pelage (fur,) isof a woolly softness, and the long white hairs, diverging considerably, allowthe back parts to be seen, so as to give the general gray color already men-tioned. On the face the wool is short, and of a smoky white color; that onthe belly is of the same character, but is longer on the fore and hind legs;the color is nearly black from th
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Keywords: ., bookauthordwightjonathan185, bookcentury1800, booksubjectzoology
