Art. XII. — Note on the Occurrence of Fossil Bones at 



Werribee. 



By Gr. B. Pritchard. 



[Eead 12tli Jiily, 189-i.] 



A short time ago having heard that some bones had been 

 discovered during the excavation of the drains for the Werribee 

 Sewage Farm, by the Metropolitan Board of Works, I called 

 upon Mr. C. E. Oliver, M.O.E., Superintending Engineer of 

 Sewerage, in whose possession the fossils were, and through his 

 kindness and courtesy I was allowed the privilege of an exami- 

 nation which resulted in their identification. These identifica- 

 tions I now wish to place on recoixl. 



Phascolomys pliocenus, McCoy. 



The first specimen is the lower jaw of the extinct wombat, 

 Phascolomys pliocenus, McCoy, which agreed remarkably well with 

 the admirable figure and description given by Sir F. McCoy in 

 the Prodromus of the Palaeontology of Victoria, Decade I., p. 21, 

 plates III., IV., V. This specimen was in an excellent state of 

 preservation, the only flaws being the absence of portions of the 

 ascending rami and the distal ends of the two incisors, the cause 

 being no doubt due to insufiicient care being exerted during 

 its excavation. In the Prodromus, this species is recorded from 

 the gold drift of Dunolly, and from the shores of Lake Bullen 

 Merri, Camperdown. In an essay " On the recent Zoology and 

 Palaeontology of Victoria," by Sir F. McCoy,* it is further 

 recorded from the red clays of Lake Timboon. By examining 

 the specimens in the National Museum, Melbourne, the following 

 additional localities maybe noted: — Limeburners Point, Geelong; 

 Modewarre, Geelong ; Bet-Bet, near Avoca ; and a half of a 

 lower jaw has been picked up on the beach two miles west of the 

 Werribee River. 



1 Palorchestes azael, Owen. 



The second specimen was in a very fragmentary condition 

 when it came into my hands, having been badly broken by the 



■•■* luteiTolonial Exhibition Essays, 1866-G7, p. 15. 



