V. AUSTRALIAN MAMMALIA. 49 



Myrmecobius fasciatus ; the Australian Ant-eater. This is 

 a gentle, easily tamed animal, with a long, slender tongue 

 formed for licking up ants, a pointed snout, short, strono- 

 legs, and a bushy tail. It is peculiar in having an unusually 

 large number of teeth, their arrangement being |-:|^; -|-;i ; 

 |^:f ; Total, 52. The female has no pouch. 



FAMILY 6. — PHASCOLOMYID^, or AVombats, are 

 dijfferent in many respects from other marsupials. They have 

 stout bodies, large heads, and small eyes. Each foot has five 

 toes, fui-nished (except the first toe of the hind foot) with 

 broad, solid nails or claws, to burrow for the roots on which they 

 feed. Their tail is so short as to be entirelv hidden bv the fur. 

 The teeth are : Incisors, J ; premolars, \\\ ; molars, J:f ; Total, if, 

 all without roots, and only fixed in the gums. The specimens are 

 in cases 1 and 2 under the Kangaroos. There are also bones of 

 fossil species in the Osteological collection. 



PhaSCOlomyS wombat is the common species. It is found 



in New South Wales, "Western Australia, and Tasmania. 



It is a nocturnal animal, growing to over 3 feet in length 



and 60 lbs. in weight. 

 P. latifrons, from South Australia, has marked differences in 



the teeth. 



FAMILY i:— DIDELPHID^, or true Opossums, are 

 natives of America. (See page 38.) 



Order MONOTREMATA.— This order also is peculiar to 

 Australia and the Austro-Malayan sub-region, and may be called 

 one of the wonders of the world. It forms a connecting link 

 between the mammals, the birds, and the reptiles, having features 

 common to each. The Monotremes lay eggs like birds or reptiles, 

 hatch them, and suckle their young like mammals, and nurse 

 them like marsupials. They were originally classed with the 

 marsupials ; but the differences are so great that they are now 

 placed in a separate order by themselves. The marsupial bones 

 are present but the pouch is said to be wanting in the Platypus, 

 and found in the Echidna only when she has eggs or young, 

 and there are considerable differences in the brain and in the 

 skeleton. There are two genera of Echidnidre, but only one of 



