was not a native of that island, but had been brought there from more distant countries; though he was ignorant of the native country of his philandre, he nevertheless gave him the epithet of oriental, though he is certainly the same animal as that of the West Indies; the proof of it will clearly appear by comparing the figure he has given with Nature. But another error of this author is, that while he gives to the opossum of America the name of great oriental philandre he presents us another animal, which he thinks a different one, under the name of the philandre of America; and which according to his own description, differs only from the former by being smaller, and having the spots above the eyes of a deeper brown colour; which differences are merely accidental, and too inconsiderable to constitute two different species, for he does not mention another difference more essential, if it existed, that Seba's philandre of America has sharp claws on the hind toes of the hind feet, while his oriental philandre has no claws upon his two thumbs. It is certain, that our opossum, which is the true one of America, has no claws to his toes behind; if an animal with sharp claws did exist, such as is represented by Seba, it could not be, as he asserts, the opossum of America. But this is not all, Seba mentions a third animal, under the name of oriental philandre, of whom, however, he speaks only after Valentin, an author who, as we have observed already, deserves little credit: and this third animal is yet the same as the two first. We are, therefore, persuaded that the three animals of Seba are individuals of the same species, and which species is the same as our opossum; and that the difference between them might be occasioned by their age, as it entirely consists in their size and slight variations in their colour, particularly in the spots above their eyes.