90 



"Dimensions of the type (measured on the rc-madc skin): — Mead and 

 body, 500 mm.; tail (imperfect); hind foot, 136; ear, 4.^. Stcull : greatest 

 length, 94; condylo-basal length, 90; zygomatic breadth, 48; nasals, 39x14; 

 palatal foramina, //. Length of P, 45 ; of P^ 6-9. Combined length of M^-^ 

 (unworn), 19." 



The following table gives the measurements of eleven typical skulls: — 





A 



B 



c 



I) 



E 



]•■ 



G 



H 



1 



T 



K 



(ircatost length 



88 



88 



91 



103 



91 



94 



100 



97 



99 



98 



98 



Condylo-basal length 



85 



81 



85 



95 



85 



89 



94 



89 



91 



92 



93 



Zygomatic breadth 



47 



46 



46 



52 



47 



47 



51 



47 



51 











Nasals, length 



36 



35-5 



37 



44 



36 



38 



45 



39 



42 



42 







Nasals, breadth 



13 



12 



13 



15 



13 



13 



14 



13 



14 



15 







Palatal foramen 



7 



7 



7 



8 



7 



8 



7 



8 



8 



8 



7 



Length of V^ 



4-5 



— 



4-5 



4-5 



5 



4-5 



4 



4 



4-5 



— 



— 



Length of P^ 



5 



5 



6 



6-5 



5 



5 



7 



7 



6 



6-5 



6 



Length, Ml-3 .. .. 



17 



17 



17 



19 



17 



16 



18 



18 



17 



U) 



17 



The length of the tail in an average specimen is 500 mm. In the skull 

 there is very commonly developed (4 times in 12 specimens) an os bregmaticum 

 — the so-called os epilepticum of human anatomy — and even when it is absent 

 a sutural irregularity at the bregma is usually present. In a series of skulls of 

 Pctrogale xantJwpus from Bimbowrie the same remarkable little bone occurs 

 with about the same frequency, but, so far, I have not noticed it in any of the 

 wallabies of the Genus Macropus. 



The skull is remarkable for its very light ossification, the bones of the 

 cranial vault being extremely thin, and compared with the skulls of such walla- 

 bies as Thyogale (Macropus) eugcnii it can only be described as fragile. The 

 teeth are commonly in very bad condition, and in several specimens are enveloped 

 in masses of tartar; alveolar abscess also occurs in connection with the roots 

 of the teeth in two skulls obtained. Like the insular bandicoots and rats, the 

 wallabies are usually extremely fat. The fur swarms with a Mallophaga, 

 which readily parts company with a dead wallaby in favour of a living human 

 host ; and the intestines of all specimens obtained contained a very heavy 

 infection of nematode worms. 



Wallabies of other Islands. 



St. Francis Island. — Flinders notes that here "a small species of kanguroo 

 was also found." This animal has been completely exterminated. It seems to 

 have been common enough when the present occupiers settled on the island, 

 but for very many years it has been no more than an apparently not very well 

 preserved memory. There is, unfortunately, no hope that a remnant of the 

 race still exists upon the island. 



So far as I know no specimen exists in any collection, and its identity must 

 remain undetermined. Its complete extermination by purposive human effort, 

 without the preservation of even a single skull, is a matter greatly to be 

 deplored. 



St. Peter Island. — Flinders records that "at 2 o'clock Mr. Brown and 

 his party returned from the eastern island bringing four kanguroos of a different 

 species to any yet seen. Their size was not superior to that of a hare, and they 

 were miserably thin, and infected with insects." 



This wallaby we must also write down as one that has become extinct 

 without leaving a trace behind, and the pity is the greater since quite unusual 

 interest centres round this animal. \\'hen Flinders notes that it belonged to 

 a different species from any they had seen before, it must be remembered that 

 he had already seen the wallabies of St. Francis Island and of the islands further 

 to the west. 



