306 EXTINCT MONSTERS 
of the eastern slopes of the Andes in South America. Every 
form of life was at that period huge and uncouth. On the grassy 
plains at the foot of the mountains roamed the Diprotodon, a 
gigantic animal allied to the kangaroo in its structure and habits, 
but of the size of an elephant. 
“But to return to the recent discovery of the actual bones. 
The South Australian Museum, represented by the honorary 
director, Dr. E. C. Stirling, C.M.G., F.R.S., took the matter in 
hand, and despatched a party of competent men to excavate. 
These men have now been at work for some four months 
removing the gravel that buries the bones, and the discovery 
has been proved to be even greater than was anticipated, and 
already many new discoveries of the first importance have been 
made. For the first time in the history of paleontological science 
the complete skeleton of Diprotodon australis has been made 
known—this being a huge marsupial considerably exceeding the 
rhinoceros in size. The bones of this magnificent treasure, in 
the interests of science, are now in the Adelaide Museum. 
Remains also of a giant wombat as large as a half-grown bullock, 
of two or three kinds of gigantic birds equalling the Moa of New 
Zealand in size, several species of colossal kangaroos, as well as 
the head of what is undoubtedly a new species of Diprotodon, 
have been discovered, excavated, and brought to Adelaide. Over 
seventy different extinct animals and birds, hitherto unknown, 
are represented in the two thousand bones which have been dug 
out of the valley at Lake Mulligan. 
“There can, in fact, be no doubt but that this discovery is 
the most remarkable one of its kind that has ever been made in 
Australia, and perhaps in the world. The South Australian 
Museum, with its limited funds, has done what it could, but with 
the work only fairly commenced the directors found themselves 
