'46 INTRODUCTION. 



this group of animals, has reference to the same 

 character. They were likewise termed animalia 

 crumentaria, or purse-bearing-animals, by Scaliger. 



The voyages of Cook made us acquainted with 

 that most interesting animal, the Kangaroo, and some 

 other species of Marsupial animals ; and we are in- 

 debted to Governor Phillip* and White,t for several 

 interesting additions. Tolerably good figures illus- 

 trate the descriptions in the works of both these 

 authors. The specimens collected in White's voy- 

 age were described by John Hunter, to whom we are 

 indebted for the first account of the dentition of many 

 of these animals. 



It is remarkable that Dr. Shaw, with these 

 materials before him, did not avail himself of them 

 in his systematic work,;}; either to modify his de- 

 finition of the genus Didelphys, or to separate from 

 it such species as would not agree with the cha- 

 racters given by himself at the commencement of the 

 group. He appeared to be, in most instances, satis- 

 fied with copying out the accounts of others. The 

 credit is due to him, however, for the separation of 

 the Kangaroos from the other Marsupial forms, and 

 applying to them the generic title Macropus. Two 

 other genera were founded by him ; one upon a 

 species of flying Opossum, and the other on the 



* The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay, 4to, 

 London, 1789. 



+ Appendix to the Journal of a Voyage to New South 

 Wales, by John AVhite, 4to., 1790. 



