These animals are all carnivorous, and prey upon small quadrupeds and the young of large ones, as well as upon birds and insects. They are of different shapes and sizes, according to the genera to which they may belong; and whilst some resemble the Shrew Mice somewhat in outward appearance, others are like the Marten, and one important group may be compared with Short-legged Wolves, or Jackals. Varying in size from that of a Mouse to a small Wolf, the members of the different genera of this family are equally variable in the number of the teeth, of the claws, and in the development of the marsupial pouch and its bones. They all have rather long muzzles and furry tails, which, however, are not prehensile. The second and third toes of the hind feet are disunited and well developed, and the thumb-toe is small or absent. There are eight incisors in the upper jaw, and six in the lower. GENUS MYRMECOBIUS.--THE POUCHED ANT-EATERS.[116] The BANDED MYRMECOBIUS may be taken as an example of this genus. It is about the size of a Rat, but it is more Squirrel-like in shape, and has a long and pointed muzzle. The tail is long and furry, with long hairs also; and the prevailing colour of the body is reddish, but posteriorly it becomes dark or black. There are nine bands of light or white colour on the sides of the body, from the back over the flanks, and the crupper is also marked with a band. The head is long, the ears are moderately long, narrow, and pointed, the gape is considerable, and the small pointed snout has some rather long smellers; there are also some long hairs under the eye. A black mark runs on the cheek to the ear, and has white hairs above and below it. The fur is somewhat remarkable. The under hair is scanty and whitish-grey, and the upper hair is rather coarse, short, and depressed on the fore parts of the body. It is long on the hind and under parts, and the hairs on the fore part of the back are black near the skin and reddish at the tip. The fur of the head is short and brownish above, being composed of a mixture of black, fulvous, and a few white hairs. The fore legs are rather stout and strongly made, and the five curved and compressed claws are admirably adapted for its method of life, which consists of insect-hunting by digging. The hind limbs are suited to support the weight of the animal, as it scratches with the fore feet, but they are deficient in the first toes. The whole animal is about seventeen inches long, seven inches being included in the tail. This animal has a greater number of teeth than any other Marsupial, and, indeed, they are only surpassed by some Cetacea and Edentate Ant-eaters amongst the other Mammalia. There are fifty-two teeth in the mouth--namely, eight upper and six lower incisors, four canines, six compressed false molars behind the canines above and below, and ten small true molars above, and twelve below. The canines of the lower jaw are incurved, and the last lower molars are