100 
ORIGINAL ARTICLES. 
which to distinguish them.* * * § They agree also in mineral condition, and 
in the dark brown glossy colour of the enamel, where denuded of 
matrix. 
As regards the history of the reputed Australian specimen, un¬ 
fortunately it was not seen, in situ , by Count Strzlecki. That enter¬ 
prising traveller, whose explorations embraced North and South 
America, Australia, the Javanese Islands, &c., states that he “ bought 
“ it from a native at Boree, the sheep-station of Captain Byan, 
“ through the agency of the overseer of that station. The native, 
“ in giving the bone, stated that similar ones, and larger still, might 
“ be got further in the interior; but that, owing to the hostility of a 
“ tribe upon whose grounds the bones are found, it was impossible 
“ for him to venture in that time, in search for more,” &c.f The 
account given in Professor Owen’s paper, differs in some respects : 
being to the effect, that the specimen was brought by a native to 
Count Strzlecki when exploring the ossiferous caves of Wellington 
Valley ;% and that the native stated that it was taken out of a cave 
further in the interior. § But the fossil bones of the ossiferous brec¬ 
cias of that valley are covered with a bright coloured ochreous clay, 
not a trace of which is to be seen on the fossil molar, the matrix of 
which is of an entirely different character. Settlements have been 
pushed into the interior since 1843, far beyond Boree and Welling¬ 
ton Valley ; while the country has been penetrated in various direc¬ 
tions by exploratory expeditions. Stupendous remains of Diprotodon 
and dVototherium, in the finest state of preservation, have been dis¬ 
covered, and remains also of the very remarkable form named Tliyla- 
coleo; but during the twenty years which have lapsed, not a trace 
has been detected, so far at least as published accounts go, of any¬ 
thing confirming the inference of an Australian Mastodon. Where 
remains of the Proboscidia occur, they are commonly found in abun¬ 
dance ; and the colossal size of the bones has led, in all ages, and in 
all countries, to their attracting lively attention. The absence of 
direct testimony, in the first instance, the conflicting statements 
regarding the place and conditions of occurrence, the discordance of 
the matrix, and the failure of subsequent confirmatory evidence, 
coupled with the fact of the solitary molar having been identified as 
* On the occasion, where I first questioned the authenticity of the reputed 
Australian Mastodon, I was led to identify it with M. Humboldtii, instead of M. 
Andium (vide Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. 1857, vol. xiii. Synoptical table, p. 319.) 
On the same occasion (op. cit. p. 313) I called attention to the exceptional character 
of certain specimens of M. Andium , as if hesitating between Tetralophodon and Trilo- 
pkodon. I believe the species will prove to belong to the latter group. 
f Strzlecki, ‘ Physical Description of New South Wales,’ &c., 1845, p. 312. 
X Buree Creek, an affluent of the Lachlan River, is in the Ashburnham District, 
north of Canobalas Mountain; while Wellington Yalley is on the Macquarie 
River, an affluent of the Darling. A considerable tract intervenes. 
§ “It is partially mineralized and coated with the reddish ferruginous earth, 
“ characteristic of the Australian fossils discovered in the Wellington ossiferous 
“ caves by Sir T. Mitchell.” (Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., Yol. xiv. p. 270). 
