Art. XX. On the Osteology of the Marsupialia. Comparison 
of the Skulls of the Wombats of Continental Australia and 
of Van Diemen's Land, whereby their specific distinction is 
established. By Professor Owen, F.R.S., F.Z.S., &c. 
{Extractedfrom Trans. Zoological Society , Vol. III.) 
In my former memoir on the Osteology of the Marsupialia*, the 
value, in the determination of the species of Marsupial Animals, 
of their osteological characters, and more especially of those 
derivable from the structure of the cranium, was attempted to be 
demonstrated : it is well exemplified by the subjects of the 
following observations. 
Skins of Wombats have been transmitted both from Australia 
and Tasmania, and may be seen in the National and Society’s 
museums and in some of those abroad ; but no observation has 
been made and recorded, to my knowledge, of any exterior 
character by which two species of the genus Phascolomys could 
be accurately recognized. 
In fact, all the stuffed specimens of full-grown animals present 
nearly the same size, shape and colour; and as the few discernable 
differences may have been produced or exaggerated by accidental 
shrivelling and distortion of flexible parts in the drying and pre¬ 
paration of the skins, I shall here limit myself to the indication of 
those characters which are permanently impressed on the hard 
internal osseous frame-work. 
It will be, unquestionably, of importance to the naturalist to 
compare closely the living Wombats of Australia, especially those 
from the southern province, with those from Van Diemen’s Land. 
Hitherto the living specimens that have been exhibited in the 
menagerie of the Zoological Society have all been transmitted 
from Tasmania. 
I have selected the skull of the largest of these Tasmanian 
Wombats ( Phascolomys Vombatus, Auct.) to compare with the 
skull of a Wombat transmitted by Governor Grey, from South 
Australia, whereby the following differences, which prove their 
specific distinction, will be sufficiently obvious. 
They are of equal size, but the skull of the specimen from 
South Australia is broader in proportion to its length. In this 
* Zoological Transactions, vol. ii. 1841, p. 370. 
