102 THE MAMMALIA. 



life of Plnti'inuli.r as expressed by its dentition 

 which has heen carried on with much animation, 

 more particularly by Kn.^lMi enquirers, also affects 

 a Marsupial of the Diluvium ; and Owen has ex- 

 pressed his conviction as to the carnivorous habits 

 of the animal (which is almost the size of a lion) 

 by the name he gives to it, i.e. Thiilnculfo cnrni/i-.r. 

 Its skull, like that of many of the Marsupials, 

 shows the peculiarity of strongly developed middle 

 incisors. The canines and front cheek-teeth are very 

 insignificant. But both above and below follows 

 a huge, compressed premolar which involuntarily 

 reminds us of the canine of the large cats of our 

 day. The rest of the back teeth, also, do not op- 

 pose the supposition of its being carnivorous, hence 

 here again we do not understand Owen's learned 

 opponent who would characterise Thiilc<>l-o as a 

 plant-eater. We agree with Owen's opinion that 

 none of the existing Carnivorous Marsupials show 

 a similar concentration of the dentition such a 

 good or serviceable set of teeth as Thiilacolco, in 

 whose case this direction of development has ex- 

 hausted itself. But does our Marsupial Lion show 

 affinity with riniri<mlfis, as Cope would have us 

 believe? Quite apart from the question of food, 

 we consider a transition from the dentition of 



