On the Recent Zoology and Palaontology of Victoria. 1 75 



ramis approximatis brevibus, iterum ramulosis, ramulis bi-evis- 

 simis, pedicellos 1-3 unijioros gerentibus. 



This plant will be more fully described in my ' Contributions 

 to Botany :' — 



Aristega Icevifolia, nob. — Forsan ex India orientali,: v. s. in herb. 

 Hook, e museo See. Ind. orient, (hb. Helford). 

 [To be continued.] 



XXII. — On the Recent Zoology and Paleontology of Victoria, 

 By Frederick M'Coy, Professor of Natural Science in 

 the University of Melbourne, Director of the National Mu- 

 seum of Victoria, &c. 



To the Editors of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 



Gentlemen, 



I drew up the following brief notice on the above subject for 

 our Intercolonial Exhibition, just held in Melbourne. If any 

 part of it should seem fit for your pages, I beg to place it at 

 your disposal. 



I am. Gentlemen, 



Your most obedient Servant, 



Frederick M'Coy. 



In the following pages I shall only refer to those species of 

 , imals affording economically useful materials, or of some spe- 

 cial present interest in relation to unsettled scientific questions. 



an mi 



ZOOLOGY. 



MAMMALIA. 



Very few of the Victorian quadrupeds are economically useful. 

 The skins of the various kangaroos [Macropus and Osphranter) , 

 waWahies {Halmaturus) , and wombats [Phascolomys] afford various 

 qualities of leather, but are at present very little used; and for 

 food the only portions of any native quadruped appearing in the 

 market are the tails of the larger kangaroo, for soup. The flesh 

 of the smaller kinds, as well as that of wombats, opossums 

 {Pliulangista vulpina and P. viverrina, var. Victories*), hare- 

 kangaroos, and kangaroo-rats [Lagorchestes and Hypsiprymnus) 



* The common ring-tail opossum of Victoria has no specific relation to 

 the rusty P. Cooki of New South Wales, and is constantly distinguishable 

 from the P. viverrina of Tasmania, of which it is at least a variety which 

 we may conveniently refer to under the name of P. Victorice. 



