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IX. On the Osteology of the Marsupialia. (Part III.) Modifications of the Skeleton in 

 the Species 0/ Phascolomys. By Professor Owen, F.R.S., F.Z.S., &c. 



Itead 21st November, 1871. 



[Plates L. to LVII.] 



§ 1. Introduction. 



MV first Paper on this subject was devoted to the osteological characteristics of the 

 Marsupiaha generally ' ; the second to the specific characters afforded by the skeleton, 

 as illustrated by certain cranial ones in the genus Phascolomys ^ But subsequent acqui- 

 sitions of fossil remains of Australian marsupials have impressed me with the inade- 

 quacy of the facts and figures communicated in these papers to the requirements of the 

 palaeontologist. 



Fellow-labourers in the field of recent osteology, such as my esteemed colleague Dr. 

 Gray, F.E.S., Prof. McCoy of the Melbourne University, and more especially Dr. James 

 Murie, F.Z.S., F.LS., have contributed valuable observations on the osteology of the 

 Wombats, whereby three existing species, Phascolomys vombatus, Geof.', P. platyrhinws, 

 Ow.\ and P. latifrons, Ow.^ seem to be well established by cranial and dental characters. 



But the illustrations of these — the more requisite through the difficulty of acquisi- 

 tion of skeletons of the rarer marsupial quadrupeds of Australia and Tasmania, espe- 

 cially by foreign museums — are very much below the needs of this limited field of 

 scientific research. 



Dr. Murie repeats, by original drawings from later acquired specimens, the upper 

 views of the cranium of the Tasmanian and latifront Wombats, given in my second 

 Memoir, with the addition of a similar view of the cranium of the platyrhine species.* 

 But these three figures are reduced to half the natural size ; and experience of much 

 perplexity and loss of time in the attempt to apply such reduced views to the deter- 

 mination of fragmentary fossils has led me more than once to denounce that seeming 

 economy, where the size of originals is not such as to preclude representation in full. 



I am therefore led to believe, and, indeed, encouraged by the uniform liberal recep- 

 tion by this Society of my contributions to the science for the promotion of which the 

 Society was founded, that the illustrations accompaying the present Paper or ' Part,' 

 may be permitted to appear in the ' Transactions.' That they will be acceptable to 



' Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. ii. 4to (1841), p. 379. ' Ibid. vol. iii. (18-45), p. 303. 



' Syn. Didelphijs ursina, Shaw. •■ Syn. Phascolomys angasii, Gray ; Ph. niger, Gould ; Ph. setosus (?>, Gray. 



' Syn. Phascolomys lasiorhinus, Gould ; Lasiorhinus M'Coyi, Gray. 



' Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1865, p. 844. (See this excellent paper for other synonyms.) 



voii. VIII. — PAKT VI. May, 1873. 3 d 



