146 MARSUPIALIA 



species, all of which are included in the one genus Phascolomys, 

 and all of which date from the Pleistocene. 



In the typical group we find the following characters. Fur 

 rough and coarse. Ears short and rounded. Muffle naked. Post- 

 orbital process of the frontal bone obsolete. Ribs fifteen pairs. 

 Vertebras: C 7, D 15, L 4, S 4, C 10-12. The Wombat of Tas- 

 mania and the islands of Bass's Straits (P. ursinus) and the closely 

 similar but larger animal of the southern portion of the mainland of 

 Australia (P. mitchelli) belong to this group. 



In the second group the characters are as follows. Fur smooth 

 and silky. Ears large and more pointed. Muffle hairy. Frontal 

 region of skull broader than in the other group, with well- 

 marked postorbital processes. Ribs thirteen. Vertebras : C 7, D 

 13, L 6, S 4, C 15-16. One species, P. latifrons, the Hairy-nosed 

 "Wombat of Southern Australia. 



In their general form and actions the Wombats resemble small 

 bears, having a somewhat similar shuffling manner of walking, but 

 they are still shorter in the legs, and have broader, flatter backs than 

 bears. They live entirely on the ground, or in burrows or holes 

 among rocks, never climbing trees, and feed entirely on grass, 

 roots, and other vegetable substances. They sleep during the day, 

 and wander forth at night in search of food, and are shy and 

 gentle in their habits generally, though they can bite strongly when 

 provoked. The only noise the common Wombat makes is a low 

 kind of hissing, but the Hairy-nosed Wombat is said to emit a short 

 quick grunt when annoyed. The prevailing colour of the last- 

 named species, as well as of P. ursinus of Tasmania, is a brownish 

 gray. The large wombat of the mainland is very variable in colour, 

 some individuals being found of a pale yellowish brown, others 

 dark gray, and some quite black. The length of head and body is 

 about three feet. 



It is noteworthy that P. mitchelli was first described from the 

 evidence of fossil remains, the living form subsequently described as 

 P. platyrhinus being found to be indistinguishable. Other extinct 

 species occur in the Pleistocene of Australia. 



Phascolonus. 1 — Remains of a large extinct Wombat, which must 

 have nearly equalled the dimensions of a Tapir, occur in the 

 Pleistocene of Queensland, and have been described as Phascolonus. 

 It is probable that the expanded and flattened upper incisors from 

 the same deposits iq>on the evidence of which the presumed genus 

 Scf'jHiriwdon was founded, are likewise referable to the same form. 

 The characters of both the upper and lower incisors distinguish 

 Phascolonus from Phascolomys. 



1 Owen, Phil Trans. 1872, p. 257. 



