Dr Knox on the Wombat of Flinders. 109 



1. There is no patella. S. The stomach of the Wombat re- 

 sembles that of the beaver, — a remarkable gland or assemblage 

 of glands, resembling the glandular crop in birds, being found 

 in the smaller curvature of the stomach, but nearer the cardiac 

 than the pyloric orifice. 3. The prostate gland exists, and is 

 very distinct. 



Now, I am not surprised that these peculiarities should have 

 escaped the French anatomists and naturalists ; for it may easi- 

 ly be shewn from their own writings, that, notwithstanding the 

 assertions of Sir E. Home, they never saw the Wombat of 

 Flinders, which in the above account he has partially described ; 

 they described the Phascolome, and not the Wombat. 



Having verified in the specimen before me the peculiarities 

 just spoken of, and ascertained the cause of error, I became 

 anxious to add as many new facts as possible to the three dis- 

 covered by Sir E. Home ; but the specimen was not a little 

 unfavourable for anatomical investigation. 



Feet. In. 

 The total length of the animal is - - • 111 



Length of the small intestines, from the pylorus to their ter- 

 mination in the large intestines, - - - 7 8 

 Length of the large ditto (caecum not included), - 10 8 

 Length of the caecum, - - - - - 6 5 



We have seen that the Phascolome or Wombat of Peron has 

 a short and wide caecum, and an appendix vermiformis ; t?ie 

 ccBcum of the Wombat of Flinders is 6Jeet 5 indies long-, ta- 

 pering' gradually/ to a point ; there is not a vestige of an appen- 

 dix vermiformis. The toes of the anterior extremities are di- 

 vided into two groups, the thumb and index constituting one, 

 and the remaining three toes the other. The great toe of the 

 posterior extremity is really a very strong and opposable thumb ; 

 the two adjoining toes are very weak, and united to the inser- 

 tion of the nail. I presume that it will now scarcely be believed 

 by any one that these animals belong to the same species. 



The Wombat of Flinders constitutes the link connecting the 

 Marsupial animals with the Rodentia. It must precede that of 

 Peron in a systematic arrangement, if we regard the nature of 

 the teeth ; but the intimate form and structure of its intestinal 

 canal places it in the closest relation with the Beaver, and with 

 the class Rodentia. 



