2 24 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



the author to the Royal Society of Tasmania, Mr. 

 Morton Allport at a meeting held on July 14th, 

 1868, dissented strongly re the new "species" of 

 thylacine, saying that he had examined over fifty 

 specimens and that he still held to the view that but 

 one species existed in the colony. No distinct 

 locality had been assigned to the "bull-dog tiger" 

 nor had it ever been denied that the two "species" 

 interbred freely. Moreover, a casual visitor to the 

 Society's Museum volunteered the information that 

 of the pair in the collection the male was a "grey- 

 hound" and the female a "bull-doof." Rem acu 

 tetigit. The differences in the teeth and skull are 

 in fact sexual only ; Mr. Krefft's "new species" 

 vanished like a puff of smoke. 



In 1871, a new zoological "sensation" became 

 current. An unknown animal — stated to be a 

 "tiger " — was seen in Queensland by Mr. Reginald 

 Uhr, afterwards Police Magistrate for the St. George 

 district, when on mounted duty. The thirteen year 

 old son of Mr. Sheridan, Police Magistrate of 

 Cardwell, Rockingham Bay, had a more startling 

 encounter. Being out at dusk one evening with a 

 a small terrier, the dog took up the scent from a 

 piece of scrub, and, barking furiously, followed up the 

 trail till half a mile further on it came up with a 

 beast as big a dog lying in the grass. It had a round 

 face like a cat's, and a lo7ig tail; the body was striped 

 from the ribs under the belly luith yellow and black. 



