560 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION F. 



and then usually in the lower jaw. Among the negroes in Africa 

 the fourth molar is sometimes found in full form as a typical molar," 

 It will be evident, from recent investigations, that these statements 

 require revision.* 



It is remarkable that among the skulls of all races in the Challenger 

 collection, the Cambridge Anthropological Museum, and the Edinburgh 

 University Museum, the only recorded instances of supernumerary 

 molars occur among Australian aboriginals ; and, of a total of seven 

 extra teeth enumerated. South Australia contributes five — a goodly 

 share. I have to add another. In a skull recently brought from the 

 Coorong there is a single socket for a tooth behind the third left molar 

 (Fig. 4). Unfortunately, the tooth itself has dropped out, so that it is 

 impossible to say anything regarding the number of its cusps. 



Another condition that has been attracting attention is the occur- 

 rence of " dental rudiments " — usually small masses of dentine. These 

 are found most often between the last premolar and the first molar, 

 and generally on the lingual margin ; but I have noted the occurrence 

 on the buccal margin in the skull of a kanaka. After long search, I 

 am now able to record their occurrence in the upper jaw of a full-grown 

 aboriginal which Dr. Rogers brought me two or three days ago from 

 the Pinnaroo district. On the left side, between the last premolar and 

 the first molar, and chiefly on the lingual aspect, there is a dental 

 rudiment (Fig. 5) possessing the characters of a peg-like tooth, the 

 crown being 5 mm. in diameter and the tooth projecting 6.5 mm. 

 beyond the alveolus. On the right side, between the buccal root of 

 the last premolar and the corresponding root of the first molar, is a 

 small rudiment, 7 mm. long and 3 mm. in diameter (Fig. 6). It 

 reaches only to the level of the necks of the adjacent teeth, and would 

 probably have been invisible during life. This case possesses an ad- 

 ditional interest, since on the one side the rudiment has the character 

 of a mere ovoid, or slightly flattened mass of dentine ; whereas on the 

 other it is a true miniature tooth. These two specimens are among the 

 most important, if not actually the most important, " rudiments " as 

 yet fomid in the human subject. 



In this connection I may quote from a description I sent to Sir 

 William Turner in December, 1902, of an aboriginal skull found at 

 Glenelg. " On the left maxilla there is a tooth socket which may have 

 belonged to an extra permanent tooth or a persistent milk-molar. A 

 large socket on the right maxilla, corresponding in position, has an 

 evident appearance of being separate. I have seen similar appearances 

 in other aboriginal skulls in connection with the first molar tooth ; but 



* Since this was written, the Secretary to this Section, Mr. Gill, the unlabelled 

 and unadvertised repository of so much information on anthropological subjects, 

 has brought under my notice a very interesting communication made to the Odonto- 

 logical Society of Great Britain by Mr. J. R. Mummery, in 1870. During an ex- 

 tensive examination of the skulls of the African races, Mr. Mummery found six 

 cases of extra fourth molars in the upper jaw, two of the cases showing a molar 

 on each side of the jaw. He says, " It is a remarkable circumstance that I met 

 with no example of a supplementary tooth in the lower jaw ; but the third molar 

 is freriuentlv larger than the second." 



