170 
indebted to Mr. Robert Grant for his valuable assistance in 
staining. 
Although it is interesting and instructive to compare the rela- 
tive development of the various parts of the cerebrum with the 
corresponding regions in the brains of Edentata and Insectivora 
which functionally resemble Votoryctes, yet in its general plan of 
architecture the cerebrum of the latter is so essentially Meta- 
therian that it will prove much more instructive and valuable to 
compare it with other Marsupials. Though the brain of Votoryctes 
may superficially present a much stronger resemblance to those of 
Talpa and Dasypus, yet its general morphological plan is identical 
with the apparently very dissimilar Macropus and Thylacinus. 
In these comparisons with non-placental Mammals I shall be 
compelled to rely almost wholly upon my own observations, in all 
cases made upon fresh material. So much has been written upon 
the Marsupial and Monotreme brain by European workers, whose 
descriptions—generally of bad material—have been too clearly 
dominated by preconceived notions of structures which one would 
expect to be present, or which previous writers had described, 
that the value of their accounts is largely discounted. As a result, 
many of the most fundamental points which can be appreciated at 
a glance in fresh material are still matters of dispute. 
I very much regret that I have been unable to consult Leche’s 
account of the brain of Myrmecobius fasciatus (16).* 
My knowledge of the Edentate, Insectivore, and Rodent brain 
I owe largely to the writings of Owen (29), Hyrtl (22), Ganser 
(13), Rabl-Riickhard (30), Flower (11), and Turner (41, 42). 
While the cerebrum of the different members of most Orders 
present features in common, distinguishing them from other 
Orders, it must be remembered that the different members of a 
given Order present variations in form and development which 
have little value for classification, being largely the expression of 
functional differences. Since the cerebrum is so largely modified 
by the habits and mode of life of the individual, too much weight 
must not be attached to mere resemblance between the brains of 
different genera. Thus the many points of striking resemblance 
between the cerebrum in Woloryctes and Perameles do not neces- 
sarily imply an affinity between the two genera, but merely a 
functional resemblance. 
The Marsupial brains, which I have examined, include those of 
Perameles nasuta, Dasyurus viverrinus, Phascolarctos cinereus, 
*Since this account was written, Professor Leche has forwarded mea 
copy of his paper. Speaking of the cerebrum he merely states that its 
general features accord with Sir Richard Owen’s account of the marsupial 
cerebrum (29). 
