2IO 



THE ROOT-EATING MARSUPIALS. 



THE ROOT-EATING MARSUPIALS 



(RHIZOPHAGA). 



This group is represented solely by the 

 genus of the Wombats (Phascolomys). Fig. 

 263 represents the Broad-fronted Wombat 



i^Ph. latifrons), which is pretty common in 

 South Australia and is likewise often kept in 

 our zoological gardens. It is a large thick 



Kig. 263. — The Broad-fronted 



plump creature with short legs, a mere stump 

 for a tail, and a thick rounded head. The 

 broad paws have five toes with large claws 

 adapted for burrowing. The dentition is ex- 

 actly like that of a rodent : two strong, sharp, 

 chisel-shaped incisors form the equipment of 

 the front part of the jaws both above and 

 below. A wide interval (diastema) is then 

 followed by a series of rootless cylindrical 

 teeth with a flat grinding surface. The pre- 

 molar consists of a single cylinder, while the 

 true molars are made up of two cylindrical 

 parts fused together. There are no canines. 



The dental formula is — 



-4=24 teeth. 



I . o . I . 4 



The wombats are the very embodiment of 



stupidity, or rather of apathy. With their 



Wombat (Phascolomys latifrons). 



broad burrowing paws they dig out holes in 

 the earth, in which they remain by day; by 

 night they walk out at a leisurely pace in 

 search of their food. They offer no resistance 

 to ill-treatment; they are obstinate in their 

 indifference, yet they sometimes' become furi- 

 ous without any apparent cause. They are 

 content with any sort of food, and endure 

 captivity very well. In Australia their flesh 

 is esteemed as highly palatable. The coarse 

 hair is of a bright yellowish-gray colour. 



[" The following notes are from the pens of various 

 authors who have written on the wombat, the earli- 

 est of whom was Mr. Bass, in Collins's Voyage. . . . 



"'The Wombat,' says Mr. Bass, 'is a squat, thick, 

 short-legged, and rather inactive quadruped. Its 

 figure and movements strongly remind one of those 



