148 MYRMECOBIID^l. 



second specimen has since been brought to England, 

 and was placed in my hands for examination. I wat 

 informed this was brought from Van Diemens Land, 

 but Mr. Alexander Gordon, who had sent the speci- 

 men to England to be stuffed, has since assured me 

 that I was misinformed, he having himself procured 

 the animal at Swan River. This specimen Mr. Gordon 

 very liberally presented to the Zoological Society. 



M. Gervais communicated a paper to the <f Aca- 

 demie des Sciences " of Paris, (for 1838, p. 671 ,) in 

 which he endeavoured to show that I was mistaken 

 in my views as regards the affinities of Myrmecobius. 

 This naturalist states that the form of the ascending 

 ramus of the lower jaw, and the presence of two 

 only, instead of four palatal foramina, indicate that 

 this animal should be placed with the Placental series 

 or " Monodelphis." 



M. Gervais should not have overlooked the denti- 

 tion ; the fact of there being more than six incisors 

 in the upper jaw, together with the great number of 

 the molar teeth (which have two roots,) was sufficient 

 to justify me, in the present state of our knowledge, 

 to regard this little Australian animal as a Marsupial. 

 Besides this, the angle of the lower jaw is represent- 

 ed in the drawing as being twisted inwards, a cha- 

 racter peculiar to the Marsupialia ; beyond this 

 character I am acquainted with none furnished by 

 the ascending ramus which would serve to dis- 

 tinguish the Placental from the Marsupial animal. 

 As regards the palatal foramina, I may remark, that 

 although the Marsupialia have generally two large 



