Principle in PalcBontology. 173 



Professor Owen is careful to give us three views of a much 

 fractured specimen of the right upper jaw from Queensland, 

 in which the most interesting teeth (the second and third 

 incisors) are missing, and the canine is fractured. He uselessly 

 figures also a fractured mandible (pi. xiii. fig. 2) , a more com- 

 plete one having been given above it (fig. 1). He carefully 

 avoids enlightening his readers bj supplying a sketch of the 

 upper teeth belonging to fig. 2, of which the canine and two 

 hinder incisors were almost perfect; these teeth are figured 

 exactly in the position in Avhich they were found imbedded in 

 stiff moist loam. Having unfortunately broken the skull and 

 mandible into fragments with my pick, I called Dr. Thomson 

 and Harry Barnes to my aid, and pointed out the position in 

 which the teeth lay imbedded, asking friend Thomson to take 

 notice of it, so that there should be no dispute about the matter 

 hereafter. To myself the arrangement of the teeth was known 

 from other specimens obtained on former occasions ; but Dr. 

 Thomson had never seen them together ; and we both sketched 

 their position. 



There is nothing wrong in the arrangement of the teeth in 

 the rejected photograph, except that the sharp edge of the third 

 incisor should be more inward, and the canine should, of course, 

 be partly hidden by the third incisor and the first small premolar. 

 We had just removed the teeth, when Harry Barnes blew the 

 candle out to prevent some uninvited visitors from coming 

 down the shaft. These inquisitive " gentlemen " were too far, 

 however, for retreat, and, bewildered by the sudden darkness, 

 brought their bodies and some ten tons of loose breccia on the 

 top of our " diggings," and so prevented us from finding the 

 rest of the skull. Professor Owen's left incisor (no. 6 of plate 

 xi.) looks very much like the fellow to my right-hand one. 

 Having carefully removed the dirt and the " dirty visitors " I 

 had another examination of the moist clay, and found the con- 

 dyle, which resembles that of a koala or native bear*. 



It is necessary to go thus into particulars ; and as Pro- 

 fessor Owen will not believe me, I must speak out myself. 

 Twisting or turning will not alter what I stated to be the 

 truth ; and I feel confident that time and Professor Flower 

 will prove the correctness of my observations. 



I have been in the habit of consulting Professor Owen's 

 works on our marsupials, and I have always found he has 



* A cast of a similar condyle, with a portion of the inflected angle, was 

 dispatched to Professor Owen as far back as 18G;J or 1864. A year or two 

 afterwards I pointed out that the cast sent 7nnst he that of the missing 

 part of the Thylacoleo' s mandible. I had good proof of my assertion ; but 

 the proposition was not entertained by Professor Owen. 



