June 28, 1894] 



NA TURE 



209 



serving as much material as passible while conditions, which 

 might at any time alter, were favourable for work. In this and 

 in the all-important work of careful Jabelling and packing, his 

 time was fully occupied as long as daylight lasted, and as soon 

 as the bones were sufficiently hardened they were packed up so 

 as to be out of harm's way ; consequently, the opportunity 

 has never yet occurred of examining the collection in the 

 aggregate. 



Mr. Zielz is, however, confident that he has one fine skeleton 

 of the large Dipiotodon australis complete, and a second nearly 

 so. The indications afforded by differences in the shape of the 

 skull and other bones, together with the great variation in size, 

 shape and section of the great upper incisors, render it probable 

 that, even among the moiety of specimens already unpacked, 

 there are at least three or four species of large Diprotodontoids 

 represented. 



We have nearly a dozen heads in good or fair condition, either 

 intact or in pieces which can be put together ; a very extensive 



able to devote to them under our present great pressure of work. 

 Besides, there are many other bones the condition of which de- 

 mands more immediate attention, so that I fear the feet must wait. 

 There are hundreds of separate carpal, tarsal, metacarpal and 

 phalangeal bones, many ribs, several more or less perfect pelves, 

 and a very few marsupial bones. The vertebrae are the weakest 

 point in the collection, as these are usually in bad condition or 

 broken, and, in all cases, they were very difficult to remove and 

 to prepare without further damage. Several small bones, which 

 are almost certainly those of a very young Diprotodon, were 

 found by Mr. George Hurst in such a position relative to the 

 pelvis of an adult animal as to suggest that the parent had died 

 wiih a young one in its pouch. Other such bones were found 

 by one of Mr. Zietz's party. Of an apparently smaller species 

 of Diprotodon, possibly D. minor, we liave several heads and 

 many other bones. 



How many separate individuals of Diprotodon have been met 

 with it is difficult to say with accuracy, on account of the way in 



Fig. 3. — Diprjtodon lo le^ p.irtlally cxciv.i.cd. 



series of limb bDnes, including some perfect feet removed entire 

 with their envelope of clay, which, in some cases, will be found 

 to show the impressions of the soles. 



Of the feet, in which from our previous ignorance of their 

 constitution much interest is centred, I prefer not saying much 

 at present, .\mong the first consignment of bones brought 

 down by Mr. 1 lursi, were the supposed bones of a fore and hind 

 foot, but a careful examination of them satisfied me that they 

 were not only incomplete, but that the assigned constituent 

 bones did not all belong to the same individual, or possibly even 

 to the same species. When at Lake Callabonna I made a 

 further attempt to ascertain their structure from apparently un- 

 touched and entire specimens, but the wet weather had made 

 the bones so exceedingly soft and fragile, that they collapsed 

 under the gentlest handling, and I was conser|Ucntly unwilling 

 to risk further damage. .Several of those we have were removed 

 without disturbance of the enveloping clay, and are presumably 

 complete, but the clay has now, with exposure, become so hard 

 that they require for development more time than we have been 



NO. 128;, VOL. 50] 



which they were often scattered and mixed, and the fact that the 

 work of ^Ir. Zietz overlapped that of his successor, but it would 

 probably be safe to say that there was some indication or other 

 of the existence of at least 100 distinct animals. 



Remains of a large Wombat, which appears without doubt to 

 be I'hascolomys gigas, were very scarce ; most of the bones of 

 the appendages, however, are represented more or less perfectly, 

 as are also the maisupial bones Unfortunately we have only 

 fragments of two skulls, of which one can be made fairly com- 

 plete when the pieces are put together. There appears no doubt 

 but that the adze-like teeth, described by Sir R. Owen as those 

 of Sief>a>iioiioii, belong really to this animal, as anticipated by 

 Mr. Lvdekker ("British Museum Catalogue of ]''ossil Mam- 

 malia," part v.). The name, however, is a misleading one, as 

 the animal could not have exceeded three feet in height, though 

 the bones are very massive. 



Of fossil Kangaroos we have one small but very complete 

 skeleton, anda largeseriesof separate bonesof several largerkinds, 

 including a fairly complete skull, which has a length of 33 '5 cm. 



