MYRMECOBIID.E. 



MYRMECOBIUS. 



Allied to the Dasyuri, appears to be the little 

 animal from Swan River, on which I founded the 

 genus Myrmecobius. Its curious dentition is : 



Incisors, j;|; canines, \\\' y false molars, |; true 

 molars, |;|=52, a number surpassing that of any 

 known quadruped, unless it be certain armadillos 

 and cetaceans. The incisors are of a compressed 

 and pointed form, and have the apical portion 

 slightly recurved ; those of the upper jaw are separ- 

 ated from each other by a small vacant space ; the 

 space between the posterior pair on either side is 

 rather less than the width of the teeth ; between the 

 others the intervals are smaller ; the anterior pair of 

 incisors are rather less than the rest, and the poste- 

 rior pair are the largest. In the lower jaw, the 

 anterior pair of incisors are decidedly larger than the 

 rest. The canines are rather small, much compressed, 

 and somewhat recurved. The false molars have each 

 two roots ; they are much compressed, pointed and 

 have the apical portion slightly recurved ; near the 

 base in front, and behind each of these teeth there 

 is a notch ; in the foremost of the false molars, this 

 notch is indistinct; the last of the false molars, both 

 of upper and under jaw, is considerably smaller 

 than the others, and of a compressed form, that of 

 the upper jaw presents four minute tubercles Q f 

 nearly equal size and arranged in a line ; that of the 

 lower ^aw has three of these small tubercles, one of 



