RODENTIA. 57 



species are known, varying from the size of a hare to that 

 of a deer, or larger. 



The Genus Macropus includes the Greater Kangaroo, 

 M. major, Shaw, which is the largest animal of Australia. 

 It is six feet high as it sits upright, of a grayish color, and 

 makes leaps of enormous extent. The young, at birth, 

 are only an inch long ; they resort to the pouch even 

 after they are old enough to graze, which they actually 

 accomplish in that position while the mother herself is 

 feeding. 



PHASCOLOMYID^E, OR WOMBAT FAMILY. This Fam- 

 ily comprises Fig . 5I . Fig 52 _ 

 animals hav- 

 ing large, flat 

 heads, short 



. . Skull of Wombat 



body that ap- 

 pears as if crushed, and without a tail. They have two 

 incisors in each jaw, similar to those of Rodents, and each 

 of their grinders has two transverse ridges. They are 

 sluggish, feed upon grass, and burrow in the ground. 

 The Wombat is of the size of a badger, and both this 

 and Lipurus, a closely related genus, live in Australia. 



SUB-SECTION VII. 



THE ORDER OF RODENTIA, OR GNAWERS. 



The Order of Rodentia comprises all the gnawing 

 Mammalia. They are readily distinguished by their 

 teeth. In each jaw they have two chisel-shaped inci- 

 sors, between which and the molars there is a wide space 

 without teeth. The incisors are covered with enamel 

 only in front, so that their posterior edges wear away 

 faster than the anterior edges, thus always keeping these 

 teeth sharp, however much they are used ; and they 

 3* 



