208 Dr. G. KreflEl on Fossil Kangaroos. 



kangaroos invariably do about that period. Figure 1, repre- 

 senting the skull with a trout tooth lost, proves, first, that the 

 author had not tlie material required ; otherwise a more j)ertect 

 figure would have been given; it also shows that the value of 

 the up})ir ineisors as a means of classitieation is reduced with 

 age, because the ineisors, being much worn, lose their original 

 shape completely. 



On plate xxv. fine illustrations are given of Protemnodon 

 Anak — that is, of a gigantic Avallaby who kept his teeth and 

 ground them down, but did not shed them as kangaroos do ; 

 this is, of course, a member of the genus Ilahnaturus^ as we 

 have liitherto classed the tribe. Su})pose we designate this 

 creature as Halmaturus {Protemnodon) Anak. It appears, 

 from remarks on page 261, that the author desires to retain 

 the genus Osphranter ; but a definition of the characteristics of 

 the genus are not given. Mr. Gould founded it on external 

 characters only; and not having a skull at my command, pai*- 

 ticulars cannot be furnished. There is no doubt that walla- 

 roos identical with the present wallaroo which inhabits the 

 Clarence district, once existed and left their remains in the 

 Wellington caves ; Professor Owen mentions their presence 

 on the Darling Downs also. 



The genus Phascolagus is mentioned as being found in a 

 fossil state by Dr. Bennett in Queensland. This form occurs 

 living far north, where Mr. George F. Waterhouse, of the 

 Adelaide Museum, obtained the typical specimen. It appears 

 to be a link between the wallabies and kangaroos proper, the 

 head being long ; but the third upper incisor is a narrow tooth, 

 and therefore the animal does not correspond with the kan- 

 garoos proper, which have broad third upper incisors. The 

 genus Boriogale is referred to in several places on pages 263 

 and 264, founded on anatomical points of the skull, which 

 cannot be distinguished without specimens. As far as I can 

 remember, the teeth resemble those of the wallaroo. The large 

 fossil wallaby, hitherto known to us as Macroj)ns (or Halma- 

 turus) Atlas, is now classed under the designation of Sthenurus 

 Atlas. This is also a true wallaby, the form of whose lower 

 premolar teeth approaches those of certain extinct phalangers 

 of the genus Nototherium. Several new species of each genus 

 are described in the treatise, which can be referred to at the 

 Public Library. 



The next part of the learned author's work will probably 

 bring the kangaroo tribe to a close ; and we may confidently 

 expect to see figured therein some of the well-preserved spe- 

 cimens forwarded by Dr. Bennett during the last six months. 

 Surveying the part as a whole, it must be considered a 



