THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 139 



Opossums, and the Native Bear, which is absent from Tasmania, 

 ii. Polyprotodontia. — Carnivorous and insectivorous. They are 

 distinguished from all living mammals in that their upper incisors 

 are 4 or 5 on either side, and in lower jaw 3. Among these 

 are found Bandicoots and Tiger Cat of Tasmania and Australia, 

 and Native Tiger and Native Devil of Tasmania. These are now 

 confined to Tasmania, but have been found fossil, together with 

 the Dingo, or Native Dog, in Tertiary beds of Australia, and 

 contemporaneous with those extinct genera of gigantic marsupials 

 with which Professor M'Coy has familiarized us. But neither tlie 

 Native Tiger or Native Devil has ever been seen or heard of in a 

 living state on this continent. Professor Spencer attributes their 

 absence from the mainland to the competition of the Dingo. For 

 in Tasmania, where they exist, the Dingo has not been. Closely 

 allied fossil forms have been found in Europe, America, and 

 Africa. Only last year a discovery was made in the Tertiaries of 

 Patagonia of the remains of carnivorous marsupials closely allied 

 to this existing pouched wolf of Tasmania, and with the same 

 dentition. This discovery was immediately recognized as likely 

 to considerably modify our views regarding the distribution of 

 marsupials. 



Birds. — We have nine peculiar families, but as we are lookmg 

 chiefly at relations of the fauna and flora these need not be 

 discussed. Most interesting are the Megapoda, or mound- 

 builders. These are allied to the Curassows of Brazil. Their 

 peculiarity consists in laying enormous eggs and burying them in 

 loose hot sand, or in enormous mounds of leaves, sticks, earth, 

 &c. The warmth of this fermenting mass hatches the eggs. The 

 young birds work their way out and are able to take care of them- 

 selves. This may be an adaptation to peculiar condition of 

 Australia in respect to prolonged droughts. In such a country 

 confinement of parents to one spot might mean starvation. 

 Brush-tongued parroquets, having a long tongue for extracting 

 nectar, are allied to the parrots of South America. Also, notice 

 distribution of order Ratits, or keelless birds. One division — 

 arm with long humerus — is represented by the ostrich of Africa 

 and Arabia, and Rhea of South America. In the second divis- 

 ion arm has short humerus — example, Cassowary in Northern 

 Austraha and Malay Archipelago. Emu in Australia, and absent 

 from Tasmania, where it is extinct. In New Zealand the Apteryx, 

 the queerest and most unbirdlike of birds. It has hair-like 

 plumage and no tail, and is nocturnal in habit. It is allied to the 

 Cassowary and gigantic extinct Moa, which existed both in 

 Australia and New Zealand. Closely allied forms found in 

 London clay. The Ratitse now living are to be regarded as 

 remnants of a once widely distributed group, and in cretaceous 

 rocks of North America has been found an extraordinary toothed 



