THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



Skull of a Wombat (upper figure) and a 



Beaver (lower figure) showing similar structure 



and arrangement of their teeth. 



Photo.^G. C. Clutton. 



example, was classed with the jerboa, 

 the wombat with the beaver, for that 

 seemed to them to be a natural classifica- 

 tion. Closer examination revealed, how- 

 ever, that, in spite of the great diversity 

 displayed by the marsupial?, they all be- 

 long to a single great group with identi- 



Skull of a Tasmanian wolf (left) and a 

 European wolf (risht) showing general 

 simUarity in their teeth ; the former can be 

 recognised as marsupial by the two perforations 

 in the palate. 



rhoto. — <j. C. Clutton. 



Lower jaw of a Wombat, showing the inward 



bend (marked with a cross) which is a 



distinctive mark of marsupial heritage. 



Photo. — ii. (\ Clutton. 



cal heritage eharactei-s, and that this 

 great group is shjarply marked off from 

 the placentals. That is, the Australian 

 marsupials are the diversified descendants 

 of a common ancestral type, which is 

 l^elieved to be repxesented by the small 

 mouse-like forms. 



In conclusion I would impress upon 

 my readers that the mammalian fauna 

 of Australia is the most uncommon, and 

 perhaps the most interesting in the 

 world. It is a link with the past, and 

 shows aflflnities with the primitive mam- 

 mals of the remote times when the lord- 

 ly reptile was monarch of all he sur- 

 veyed. Because of this, and because of 

 the wonderful manner in which they il- 

 lustrate the great principles of adaptive 

 radiation and parallelism in develop- 

 ment, surely it is our duty to save the 



Cape Jumping Hare, a placental hopping 



mammal resembling the Rat Kangaroo in 



outward form and limbs. 



Photo. — G. C. Clutton. 



