﻿THE MARSUPIAL ANT-EATERS. 183 



think, it should not be referred to a family by itself. Regarding 

 it as the representative of a sub-family only, the Myrmecobiince. 

 will be distinguished from the preceding sub-family of the 

 Dasyuridce by the following characteristics : — 



Tongue long, cylindrical, and extensile ; nose naked, and 

 grooved below ; lower lip pointed, and projecting beyond the 

 teeth ; chest furnished with a complex gland, opening to the 

 surface by means of several large and distinct apertures. Cheek- 

 teeth small and delicate, the molars being more than four in 

 number on each side of both the upper and lower jaw, and 

 those of the latter with their inner cusps larger than the outer 

 ones. 



As a genus, Myrniecohms may de defined as follows : — • 



Form graceful and Squirrel-hke ; ears long and narrow ; fore 

 feet with five, and the hinder with four toes, the hallux being 

 wanting externally ; all the toes furnished with long claws 

 adapted for digging ; soles of fore feet partially, and those of 

 hind pair entirely, naked, their pads small and granulated. 

 Tail long and bushy. Pouch obsolete. Teats, according to 

 Thomas, four in number, although there is a statement of 

 Gould implying the existence of seven or eight. Three pairs 

 of premolar teeth in each jaw, and five pairs of molars, with 

 the occasional presence of a sixth pair in the lower jaw ; the 

 total number of teeth, inclusive of the incisors and canines, 

 thus being either 50 or 52. Very rarely a fourth pair of lower 

 incisors occurs, bringing up the extreme total to 54. 



The especial interest of this genus, in which the number of 

 teeth is greater than in any other mammals which have the teeth 

 differentiated into series, lies in its relationship to the extinct 

 Marsupials of the Mesozoic rocks of Europe, as exemplified by 

 the form and number of its molar teeth. Since these teeth are 

 very remarkable, and unlike those of any other living members 

 of the order, they merit especial notice. In the words of Water- 



