167 
THE COMPARATIVE ANATOMY OF THE CEREBRUM 
OF NOTORYCTES TYPHLOPS. 
By G. Extior Smirn, M.D., Ch. M., Demonstrator of Anatomy, 
University of Sydney, N.S.W. 
[Read September 3, 1895.] 
Hitherto no attempt has been made to describe any part of the 
central nervous system of Wotoryctes, for the simple reason that 
no suitable material has been available for examination. In the 
earlier specimens of this interesting marsupial, Dr. E. C. Stirling 
found (38) that the condition of the brain was such as “ to ren- 
der an examination quite hopeless ;” and though the later speci- 
mens were received in better condition, they have been used for 
other purposes, rather than destroy much of the skeletal and 
muscular systems, with a doubtful prospect of getting ure useful 
material as compensation. 
Although I have only been able to obtain the cerebrum, and 
that not in a perfect state of preservation, I propose, in view of 
the great interest attaching to this remarkable mammal, to 
present to this Society the imperfect results of the examination 
of that part of the brain. This account is naturally, from the 
nature of the material, very incomplete and patchy, and is pub- 
lished in this unsatisfactor y form, since the prospect of getting 
any better material is very doubtful. 
For the opportunity of examining this interesting specimen, 
I must express my deepest gratitude to Professor Wilson, who 
very kindly allowed me to remove the brain from one of the 
specimens, which he had received from Dr. Stirling for the pur- 
pose of investigating the myology. To Professor Wilson I am 
also deeply indebted for much of the valuable material which 
has been used for comparative purposes in this investigation, as 
well as for directing my attention to a number of papers, referred 
to in this account, which I would otherwise have overlooked. 
As Professor Wilson had not completed the examination of 
the muscles of the head and neck, I was only permitted to 
remove that small area of the cranial roof lying between the 
temporal muscles in front of the superior nuchal crest. Although 
the task of removing an imperfectly preserved brain through sueh 
a small gap did not appear very hopeful, yet by removing the 
brain in segments (a course which I was reluctantly compelled to 
adopt) I was enabled to obtain the cerebrum without much dis- 
turbance of its parts. A relatively thick dura mater is exposed 
