306 EXTINCT MONSTERS 



of the eastern slopes of the Andes in South America. Every 

 form of life was at that period huge and uncouth. On the grassy 

 plains at the foot of the mountains roamed the Diprotodon, a 

 gigantic animal allied to the kangaroo in its structure and habits, 

 but of the size of an elephant. 



"But to return to the recent discovery of the actual bones. 

 The South Australian Museum, represented by the honorary 

 director, Dr. E. C. Stirling, C.M.G., F.E.S., took the matter in 

 hand, and despatched a party of competent men to excavate. 

 These men have now been at work for some four months 

 removing the gravel that buries the bones, and the discovery 

 has been proved to be even greater than was anticipated, and 

 already many new discoveries of the first importance have been 

 made. For the first time in the history of palseontological science 

 the complete skeleton of Diprotodon australis has been made 

 known this being a huge marsupial considerably exceeding the 

 rhinoceros in size. The bones of this magnificent treasure, in 

 the interests of science, are now in the Adelaide Museum. 

 Eemains also of a giant wombat as large as a half-grown bullock, 

 of two or three kinds of gigantic birds equalling the Moa of New 

 Zealand in size, several species of colossal kangaroos, as well as 

 the head of what is undoubtedly a new species of Diprotodon, 

 have been discovered, excavated, and brought to Adelaide. Over 

 seventy different extinct animals and birds, hitherto unknown, 

 are represented in the two thousand bones which have been dug 

 out of the valley at Lake Mulligan. 



" There can, in fact, be no doubt but that this discovery is 

 the most remarkable one of its kind that has ever been made in 

 Australia, and perhaps in the world. The South Australian 

 Museum, with its limited funds, has done what it could, but with 

 the work only fairly commenced the directors found themselves 



