[16. THE PHILANDER OF SURINAM.]
THIS animal belongs to the same climate, and is of a similar species to the other oppossums. Sibillas Merian, is the first who gave a figure and description of it. Seba considered that of Merian’s to be the female, and gave another figure for that of the male, with a kind of description; this animal, he says, has very sparkling eyes, surrounded with a circle of brown hair. The body is covered with a soft hair, or rather a kind of wool of a reddish yellow colour, which is mostly red on the back, and of a yellowish white on the snout, forehead, belly, and feet: the ears are naked and pretty hard. There are long hairs in form of whiskers on the upper jaw and above the eyes; its teeth are pointed and very sharp. Upon the tail of the male, which is naked, and of a pale red, there are dark red spots, which are not seen on the tail of the female. The feet resemble the hands of the ape; the fore-feet having four fingers and a thumb with short and obtuse nails, while only the thumb, or great toe, of the hind-feet is flat and obtuse, the rest being armed with small sharp claws. The young of these animals grunt somewhat like pigs. The teats of the female resemble those of the murine opossum. Seba justly observes, that in the figure given by Marian, the feet and toes are badly represented. The females produce five or six at a time. The tail is very long and prehensile, like that of the sapajous. The young ones get on the back of their mother, and fix themselves securely by twisting their tail round her’s. In this situation, which is familiar to them, they carry them with much swiftness and safety.
THE Akouchi is common in Guiana, and other parts of South America. It differs from the agouti by having a tail, which the latter has not. The akouchi is generally smaller than the agouti, and its hair is not red, but of an olive colour. These are the only differences we are acquainted with between these two animals, which, however, seem sufficient to constitute two distinct and separate species.