1892.] ON NOTORYCTES TYPHLOPS. 361 



the ventral pair of setae : the anterior atrial pore of one side of the 

 body lies a little in front of, and to the outside of, the pair of setse : 

 the posterior atrial pore, on the other hand, has a slightly different 

 relation to the pair of setae of its segment ; it is placed a little behind 

 the setae. The pore of the single vas deferens again differs in posi- 

 tion from both of these apertures ; it lies on the same level as, but to 

 the outside of, the ventral setae of its segment, which is of course 

 the xviiith, I am disposed to believe that Rosa's " Acanihodilus " 

 spegazzinii will prove to be congeneric with this species. 



6. On the Systematic Position of Notoryctes typhlops. By 

 Hans Gadow, Ph.D., M.A., Lecturer on Advanced 

 Morphology of Vertebrata, and Strickland Curator, 

 University of Cambridge. 



[Eeceived April 9, 1892.] 



Professor Stirling had kindly entrusted me with his most valuable 

 material of Notoryctes before this was distributed to various 

 museums. He asked me to fix the systematic position of this new 

 mammal more precisely than he had been able to do, because of 

 want of time and opportunity. He also modestly wanted me to 

 verify and to supplement his own work \ This was both an easy and 

 a difficult task. His two papers on Notoryctes contain a most 

 carefully worked out description of the creature, and, with the ex- 

 ception of some important characters concerning the teeth and the 

 cloacal region, leave nothing that could be of general interest and 

 bear upon the question of the position of Notoryctes in the system. 

 There are still some points which have not been worked out fully, 

 e. g. the vascular, muscular, and nervous systems, but tliese will 

 undoubtedly be investigated in due time. 



Professor Stirling has discussed the whole matter with me 

 thoroughly during his several visits to Cambridge ; several parts of 

 Notoryctes we redissected together and many questions were studied, 

 so that the following pages might well form a paper of conjoint 

 authorship; but, unfortunately for me, his time in Cambridge was 

 limited, and thus I have become the only responsible author. 



The advance copy of the ' Handhst of Australian Mammals,' by 

 Mr. J. Douglas Ogilby, contains many important remarks on the 

 systematic position of Notoryctes, with which we are unable to agree. 

 This has necessitated, unfortunately, more argumentative reasoning in 

 the following pages than would have been the case had Notoryctes 

 been left in a less ambitious position than that of a link between 

 the Proto- and Metatheria. The creature is interesting enough as a 

 Marsupial. 



^ E. 0. Stirling, "Description of a new Genus and Species of Marsupialia 

 {Notoryctes typhlops)," Trans. E. S. South Australia, 1891, pp. 154-187, pis. ii.- 

 ix. ; " Further Notes on the Habits nnA Anatomy of Notoryctes typhlops," ibid 

 1891, pp. 283-291, pi. xii. 



