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MARSUPIATA.—MYRMECOBIADÆ.


guttural cry, and appeared exceedingly inactive and stupid; having, like the owl, an almost continual motion of the nictitant membrane of the Beers In its stomach were found the partly-digested remains of a Porcupine-Ant-eater."[1]

It is said to be still numerous in the more remote parts of the colony, being often caught at Woolworth and the Hampshire hills. It usually attacks sheep in the night, but is also seen occasionally during the day-time, when its pace, probably owing to the imperfection of its sight by day, is very slow.[2]

Family III. Myrmecobiadæ.

The Family thus named was founded on a single specimen, and though two or three more individuals have since been sent to Europe, they are all of the same species. Its characters are as follow.

Genus Myrmecobius. (Waterhouse.)

The fore-feet are furnished with five toes each, which are armed with strong, curved claws, a little compressed: on the hind feet there are but four toes of a similar character, all free. The head is much lengthened, with a pointed snout; the ears are of moderate size, narrow, erect and pointed: the body is long and slender, the tail rather long, and clothed with loose hair. The number and arrangement of the teeth are thus expressed:— inc. 8/6; can. 1—1/1—1; false molars, 4—4/5—5; molars, 4—4/4—4; = 52; a greater number than is found in any mammal,

  1. Linn. Trans. ix. 174.
  2. Annals of N. H. 1838, p. 101,