108 Dr Knox on the Wombat of Flinders. 



Wombat of Flinders has been thought applicable to the Pha- 

 scolome of St Hilaire ; that is, to an animal of a very different 

 nature, and belonging to a distinct genus, and endeavour, as 

 far as the very limited opportunities as yet permit, to rectify 

 them. 



The only account hitherto published of the animal to 

 which I have given the name of the Wombat of Flinders, is 

 that by Sir E. Home, already quoted. This great anatomist 

 has described some of the habits of the animal (for it was 

 brought to him alive by Mr Brown), and several peculiarities 

 in its internal structure ; but, by an error inexplicable to me, 

 he fancied that the Wombat he described was the same as the 

 Phascolome of Peron, the internal anatomy of which had al- 

 ready been accurately given by the Baron Cuvier ; and this has 

 led to a confusion which can scarcely be imagined, but by those 

 who may have had to unravel the anatomy of two distinct spe- 

 cies of animals, given partially by different observers, who both 

 fancied they were describing one and the same animal. 



The external form of the Wombat, observes Sir E. Home, 

 has been described by M. Geoffroy in the Sd volume of the 

 A7inales du Museum, and several parts of its internal structure 

 have been taken notice of by M. Cuvier in his Lemons d'Anato- 

 mie Comparee ; but in order to shew, that to suppose this is a 

 great error, and to prove satisfactorily to the Society, that the 

 great French anatomist never dissected an individual of the spe- 

 cies which Sir E. Home speaks of in the memoir alluded to, 

 I have only to call the attention of the Society to the following 

 circumstances : 



The Phascolome of Peron, Cuvier, and St Hilaire, has two 

 long incisive teeth in each jaw ; ten molar teeth, but no canine 

 teeth. The Wombat of Flinders has, on the contrary, six in- 

 cisive, two canine, and ten molar. 



The peculiarities which Sir E. Home supposes to have es- 

 caped the observation of MM. Cuvier and St Hilaire, are three 

 in number, and they comprise all the observations which Sir E. 

 Home has thought fit to offei- on the subject. 



