120 THE DASYURES. 



are nearly in the form of a right angled triangle, and 

 instead of being elevated so as to present a cutting 

 edge, they are furnished with numerous pointed 

 tubercles : on the outer edge of the teeth are three 

 cusps,* a little within these are two other pointed 

 tubercles, and on the inner side of the tooth we ob- 

 serve the inner lobe produced into a point : the last 

 molar is narrow and placed transversely in the jaw. 

 The true molars of the lower jaw present about five 

 sharply pointed cusps ; three of these are visible as 

 we view the outer side of the tooth, and of these, the 

 central one is the largest ; the other two are within 

 and have no representative in the Thylacinus. Such 

 is the dentition of Dasyurus viverrinus, which may 

 be regarded as a typical example of the genus, but 

 in Das. ursinus we find the dentition in almost all 

 respects intermediate, and owing to the shortness of 

 the muzzle in this animal the false molars are thrown 

 close together, and are much shorter than in other 

 species ; the first false molar, instead of being most 

 extended in the longitudinal direction is broader than 

 long ; the crown of the second is nearly round ; the 

 middle pair of incisors of the upper jaw are larger 

 than those next them : the canines are very large. 



The fore-feet are furnished with five well develop- 

 ed toes, armed with sharp, compressed, slightly curved 

 claws, which are of moderate size ; the central toe 

 is the longest and the inner toe is the shortest. The 



* I can perceive no trace of the central cusp of these three^ 

 in the molars of Thylacinus. 



