PHASCOLOMYIVE. MAMMALIA. 



209 



observe in conclusion, that the varied members of this 

 order are for the most part met with on the great 

 Australian continent and its adjacent islands. Some 

 few inhabit the warmer regions of America, and, what 

 is still more interesting, fossil remains of others have 

 been found in Europe, in the tertiary gypsum beds of 

 Paris, and in the Stonesfield slate of the great oolite 

 formation in England. 



FAMILY I. PHASCOLOMYD^. 



This family is probably represented by a single living 

 species only, but the fossil genus, Diprotodon, estab- 

 lished by Professor Owen, is also included in it, or in 

 his rhizophagous tribe of marsupials, which is the same 

 thing. This small group is characterized by the posses- 

 sion of two incisor teeth in either jaw, above and below ; 

 there are no canines, and a large interspace separates the 

 incisives from the molars, which are twenty in number, 

 the anterior four being spurious ; they have indistinct 

 roots and flattened crowns. All the feet are penta- 

 dactylous, but the thumb of the hind feet is rudimen- 

 tary and clawless. The tail is extremely short. The 

 stomach is provided with a special gland ; the ccecum 

 being small, broad, and furnished with a vermiform 

 appendage. 



THE WOMBAT (Phascolomys Wombat) Plate 28, 

 fig. 93 is a short thick-set animal, from two to three 

 feet in length, and weighing about thirty pounds. 

 The head is large, and furnished with small ears, the 

 tail measuring only half an inch. In the skeleton, 

 however if three of the outer-iliac vertebral segments 

 be reckoned as belonging to the category of sacral 

 elements there are no less than thirteen or fourteen 

 caudal vertebra?. Another peculiarity in the skeleton 

 arises out of the presence of fifteen or sixteen pairs of 

 ribs a number considerably exceeding that of other 

 marsupials. The fur is thick, and of a sandy brown 

 colour below and at the sides, being darker along the 

 line of the back. The eyes are small, and not at all 

 prominent. One of the best accounts of the Wombat's 

 habits is that furnished by Colonel Collins at the early 

 part of the present century. " This animal," he 

 savs, possesses no claim to swiftness, as most 

 men could run it down. Its pace is hobbling or 

 shuffling, something like the awkward gait of a 

 bear. In disposition it is mild and gentle, as 

 becomes a grass-eater ; but it bites hard and is 

 furious when provoked." His friend, Mr. Bass, 

 he adds, " never heard its voice but at that time. 

 It was a low cry between a hissing and a whizzing, 

 which could not be heard at a distance of more than 

 thirty or forty yards. He chased one, and with his hands 

 suddenly lifted it off the .ground without hurting it, and 

 laid it upon its back along his arm like a child. It 

 made no noise nor any effort to escape, not even a 

 struggle." Subsequently, however, the little animal 

 shrieked and made its escape, whilst Mr. Bass was 

 preparing to tie it up. Colonel Collins further on 

 observes, that besides living in Furneaux's island, the 

 Wombat inhabits the hills to the west of Port-Jackson. 

 "In both these places its habitation is underground, 



the animal being admirably formed for burrowing; but 

 to what depth it descends does not seem to be ascer- 

 tained. According to the account given of it by the 

 natives, the Wombat of the mountains is never seen 

 during the day, but lives retired in its hole, feeding 

 only in the night ; that inhabiting the islands is seen 

 to feed all times of the day." Its food consists chiefly 

 of coarse grass and roots. The flesh is said to be 

 delicate and excellent eating. The female produces 

 three or four young at a single birth. 



From the examination of a skull brought from South 

 Australia, Professor Owen has expressed his belief in 

 the existence of a second species of Wombat, which he 

 has provisionally named Phascolomys latifrons. The 

 fossil genus Diprotodon attained gigantic proportions, 

 being nearly as large as the hippopotamus. 



FAMILY II. MACROPIIXffi. 



The Kangaroos are readily distinguished by the dis- 

 proportionate bulk of the hinder parts of the body as 

 compared with those in front, this feature being more 

 particularly noticeable in the development of the tail 

 and hinder extremities. The feet are greatly elongated 

 by an extension of the metatarsal bones and digital 

 phalanges, their soles being applied to the ground 

 during progression. The powerful tail acts as a fifth 

 limb during the slower movements of the body, and 

 forms, in conjunction with the hind legs, a firm tripodal 

 basis of support during the state of rest. The fore 

 limbs are short, pentadactylous, attenuated, and fur- 

 nished with compressed curved claws, the nails of the 

 hind feet being straight and tetradactylous. Speaking 

 generally, the body presents a conical outline, tapering 

 from below upwards. The ears are largely developed 

 and oval in shape ; but a more important character is 



Fig. 85. 



Skull of the Great Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus). 



seen in the teeth (fig. 85.) According to Professor 

 Owen, there are in tb.3 normal condition of the perma- 

 nent dental series six superior and two inferior incisors, 

 no canines, four premolars equally divided above and 

 below, and sixteen true molars, that is, four on either 

 side of the upper and lower jaws. In the genus of 

 Kangaroo Rats or Potoroos (Hypsiprymnus) canines 

 are present in the upper jaw. In the true Kangaroos 

 the central incisors of the upper are not longer than 



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