An Opossum of Van Diemen’s Land. Drawing by John Webber – Engraving by Peter Mazell
Cook described the familiar nature of the opossum, a marsupial “twice the size of a large rat … of a dusky colour … tinged with a brown or rusty cast, and whitish below” and with a tail “by which it probably hangs on the branches of trees”.
Cook praised Webber’s artistry, saying that the “drawing will give a better idea of it than any description.” (Nordyke, 11)