72 EDWARD B. POULTON. 



sand, and vegetable matter, with no regular food. The simple 

 character of the digestive tract and short caecum is also evidence 

 that the animal does not subsist on vegetable food. E. Geoifroy 

 first named and described the genus Perameles from this 

 species and another in the * Annales du Museum d'Histoire 

 Naturelle' (1804) ; and in describing this species he infers that 

 it is insectivorous, from the characters of the teeth, and sug- 

 gests that this food is obtained by digging. This latter habit 

 probably explains Gould's mistake and that of the colonists, for 

 I believe that in Australia the bandicoots are generally believed 

 to be plant-eating. 



I have now mentioned all the points bearing upon my sub- 

 ject that I can find in any former writings upon this animal. 

 The structures I am about to describe admit of a simple classi- 

 fication under two heads. First, those structures which are 

 probably concerned with taste — the circumvallate and fungi- 

 form papillae, together with some suggestions as to the origin 

 of taste bulbs. Secondly, those structures of mechanical or 

 tactile use — the papillae of peculiar type and the filiform 

 papillae. 



I. Gustatory Structures. 



The Circumvallate papilla. — The surfaces of these 

 papillae are circular, and a little more than 1 mm. in diameter. 

 The sides (protected by the trench) are vertical for '33 of a 

 mm., and then incline inwards for about the same distance, 

 making an angle of about 36°, with the vertical side above. 

 Below this the side of the papilla turns inwards for a 

 short distance almost horizontally, and by this and the inward 

 slope above, the diameter of the papilla is only about "5 of a 

 mm. at its base. The taste bulbs are arranged only upon the 

 side inclining inwards and downwards, and are thus peculiarly 

 protected. The depression of the epithelial surface forming 

 the outer wall of the trench follows the sides of the papilla 

 with a curved and smooth outline in vertical section, but seen 

 to be vertically ridged by horizontal sections. The papilla 

 itself is not similarly ridged. The outer wall of the trench 



