The four remaining mammals are Marsupials, an order
of the class Mammalia, which is very characteristic of the
Australian fauna; and these are probably true natives of
the Moluccas, since they are either of peculiar species, or
if found elsewhere are natives only of New Guinea or
North Australia. The first is the small flying opossum,
Behdeus ariel, a beautiful little animal, exactly like a
small flying squirrel in appearance, but belonging; to the
marsupial order. The other three are . species of the
curious genus Cuscus, which is peculiar to the Austfo-
Malayan region. These are opossum-like animals, with a
long prehensile tail, of which the terminal half is generally
bare. They have small heads, large eyes, and a : dense
covering of woolly fur, which is. often pure white with
iiregular black spots or blotches, or sometimes ashy brown
with or without white spots. They live in trees, feeding
upon the leaves, of which they devour large quantities.
They move about slowly, and are difficult to kill, owing to
the thickness of their fur, and their tenacity of life. A heavy
charge of shot win often lodge in the skin and do them no
harm, and even breaking the spine or piercing the brain
will not kill them for some hours. The natives everywhere
eat their flesh, and as their motions are so slow, easily
catch them by climbing; so that it is wonderful they have
not been exterminated. It may be, however, that their
dense woolly fur protects them from birds of prey, and the
islands they live in are too thinly inhabited for man to be
able to exterminate them. The figure represents Cuscus
ornatus, a new species discovered by me in Batchian, and
CUSCUS URNATUS.
^|hich also inhabits Ternate. It is peculiar to the Moluccas,
while;:the two other species which inhabit Ceram are found
also'dn .Npw Guinea and Waigiou.
3 In: pièce'f of the excessive poverty of mammals which
characterises.the Moluccas, we have a very rich display of