﻿264 Allen's naturalist's library. 



Nototherium inerme, Owen, op. cit., p. 316. 

 Nototheriiim victorice, Owen, Phil. Trans., 1872, p. 6t. 



The genus Nototherhwi, in which it is difficult to recognise 

 more than a single species, appears to form a connectmg link 

 between the preceding family and the Wombats, the skull, 

 limb-bones, and vertebrse being nearest to those of the latter, 

 the lower jaw presenting characters intermediate between the 

 two, while the molar teeth are similar to those of the former. 



Of somewhat smaller size than the Diprotodon., the Noto- 

 therium may be distinguished at a glance by its extremely short 

 and wide skull, in which the region of the nose is curiously 

 upturned. In number, the teeth agree with those of the 

 Diprotodojt^ but the upper incisors are of moderate size, not 

 chisel-shaped, and the second and third pairs are separated in the 

 middle line. Although the upper molars have no longitudinal 

 bridge connecting the two transverse ridges, an incomplete one 

 is developed in those of the lower jaw, and when un-worn the 

 ridges of these teeth sometimes tend to a crescent form. The 

 lower jaw has its inferior border highly convex, and its two 

 branches welded together by bone at their junction in front. 



The humerus, or upper arm-bone, tentatively assigned to this 

 animal is very like that of the Wombats ; but there is a possi- 

 bility that it may belong to a gigantic extinct representative of 

 the latter. Although very imperfectly known, the feet also 

 seem to approximate in structure to those of the latter group. 



If the humerus assigned to it be rightly referred, it would 

 appear that, in spite of its gigantic dimensions, the A^otothcrium 

 was an animal of burrowing, or at all events digging, habits. 

 The structure of its molar teeth is such as might easily be 

 modified into the more specialised type characteristic of the 

 Wombats, so that it is conceivable that both the latter and the 

 animal under consideration may have been evolved from a 

 common ancestor. 



