19 



of the crown ; yet the layer of cement which covers the enameled 

 crown is thickest in the vegetable-feeding Marsupials, and is re- 

 markably distinct in the "Wombat, 



I may add that the Wombat deviates from the other Marsupials 

 in the number of its ribs : as these are very constant in the rest of 

 the order, the difiference in the Wombat, which has 15 pairs, in- 

 stead of 13 or 12, is the more deserving of notice. The Koala, like 

 the Phalangers and Kangaroos, has 13 pairs of ribs. 



Professor Owen next proceeds to compare the classification of the 

 Marsupialia here proposed with that of Cuvier, given in the second 

 edition of the R^gne Animal, and states the reasons which have led 

 him to devise a new arrangement. 



The following is a tabular view of Professor Owen's classifica- 

 tion. 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE MARSUPIALIA. 



Tribes. Families. 



Sarcophaga. 

 Three kinds of teeth ; 

 canines long in both 

 jaws ; a simple sto- DasyuridtB. 

 mach ; no intesiinum 

 ccecum. 



Genera. 



r Thylacinus. 

 < Dasyurus. 

 I^Phascogale. 



Subgenera. 



Extincttransitional forms H^^r^"'^^".'*""- 1 Fossil. 



L Thylacothenum. j 



Entomophaga 



Three kinds of teeth in 

 both jaws ; a simple 

 stomach; a moderately 

 long intestinum cacum. 



Carpophaga. 

 Anterior incisors large 

 and long in both jaws ; 

 canines inconstant ; a 

 simple stomach ; a very 

 long intestinum cacum. 



Poephaga. 



Anterior incisors large 

 and long in both jaws ; 

 canines present in the 

 upper jaw only, or 

 wanting. A complex 

 stomach; a long e78<e*- 

 tinum ccecum. 

 Rhizophaga. 



Two scalpriform incisors 

 in both jaws ; no ca- 

 nines. Stomach with 

 aspecialgland ; caecum 

 short, wide, with a ver- 

 miform appendage. 



Ambulatoria. . Myrmecobius. 



Saltatoria. 

 Scansoria. 



{Chaeropus. 

 Perameles. 

 Didelphis. 



Phalangistidm. . {Kurus''^' 



PhascolarctidtB. . Fhascolarctus. 



Cheironettes. 



r Cuscus. 

 < Pseudocheirus. 

 t Tapoa. 

 Acrobata. 



MacropodidcB. / Hypsiprymnus. f Halmaturus 

 '^ \_ Macropus. \ Macropus. 



Ptoc»,«.,./..{S-°iy^-}Fossi.. 



