Scientific Intelligence—G eology. 177 
some bones of which, incrusted with stalactites, have been discovered in 
the island of Rodriguez, and described by G. Cuvier and M. de Blainville. 
The megatherian deposits of South America, have furnished M. Lund 
with thirty-three species of birds, some still belonging to that part of 
the world, others extinct, but all pertaining to American genera. The 
new collections made by M. Claussen, enable us to add to the list given 
by M. Lund, a Cathartes larger than the existing species, a Strix, a Ca- 
primulgus, a genus allied to Dicholophus, and a Psittacus. 
A concluding paragraph of this work is devoted to the species of 
Cursores allied to the Cassowaries, which M, Owen has made known to 
the public under the name of Dinornis, the bones of which, described 
with so much care by this naturalist, have been found in New Zealand.* 
2. On Gigantic extinct Mammalia in Australia; By Prof. Owen.— 
The author observes that the first information respecting the extinct 
Fauna of Australia, was derived from Major Mitchell’s researches in the. 
ossiferous caves of Wellington Valley. All the remains there discovered, 
with one exception, indicated the existence of only marsupial animals, of 
extinct species, differing chiefly in being larger than any now living. 
The specimen, which thus differed from the rest, was the fragment of a 
lower jaw, with molar teeth, and the socket of a siugle incisor ; it most 
nearly resembled the wombat, and had been named Diprotodon by Mr 
Owen. Since that period (1835), Sir Thomas Mitchell, Count Strelitzky, 
and other gentlemen, have obtained colleetions of bones from caves on 
the Darling Downs, west of Morton Bay, and other localities at a dis- 
tance from Wellington Valley. From an examination of these, Mr 
Owen has determined the former existence in Australia of a mastodon, 
nearly allied to the M. angustidens, remains of which are so abundant 
in Europe, and also allied to the M. Andium of North and South 
America; and he observes that the fact of the wide distribution of re- 
mains of the mastodon in Europe, Asia, and America, prepared him to 
receive, with less surprise, the unequivocal evidence of its existence in 
Australia also. Mr Owen then proceeded to the consideration of the 
fossil remains of the marsupialia, a class of animals to which, with the 
exception of small rodentia, such as rats and mice, all the indigenous 
quadrupeds of Australia belonged. With regard to the Diprotodon before 
mentioned, much additional evidence had been required to establish the 
marsupial character of a quadruped as large as a rhinoceros ; and amongst 
the remains lately obtained in the bed of the Condamine river, at Mor- 
ton Bay, was a specimen consisting of the anterior part of the lower jaw, 
with the base of a tusk, and a portion of the molar teeth, the tusk being 
identical with one from Wellington Valley. This specimen shews that 
the animal possessed large incisive tusks, combined with molar teeth, 
like those of the kangaroo, characterized by two transverse ridges; the 
marsupial character of these remains was also indicated by the bend- 
ing in of the angle of the jaw. Mr Owen referred to a second gigantic 
type of extinct marsupials ; but observed that further evidence relative 
to the marsupial character of these great quadrupeds was most desirable, 
From examination, he concluded that the great extinct herbivorous 
| AHERN OPE Srarce Mee ALO per RE RRP OR 
* From l'Institut. No. 557, p. 293. 
VOL. XXXVIII. NO. UXXV.—JAN. 1845. M 
