WOMBAT, 105: 
Victorian, Tasmanian, and South Australian specimens. ‘These are 
supplied with a bed of clean straw, and are fed on biscuits and 
sorghum. 
Where found.—In New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, 
Tasmania, as well as on some of the islands of Bass’ Strait. The- 
Tasmanian wombat, in certain districts, is extremely common ; it 
has been found in the neighbourhood of Port Arthur and in the 
sterile districts behind Mount Wellington, also near St. Patrick’s 
River. In the Melbourne museum there are specimens of the black 
variety from the north of Victoria, and the brown from Yea, and 
others from Colac. The Sydney museum has specimens from Port 
Lincoln, in South Anstralia. Governor Hunter sent the first 
specimen to England from Preservation Island. It still exists in 
the museum at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 
Species. — Until about the year 1860 there was only one species: 
known to zoologists—Phascolomys—wombat. This is now known to 
be confined to Tasmania and the other islands lying south of the 
Australian continent. It is specifically distinguishable with ease 
and certainty from the wombats of the mainland, by the characters 
of the skull and skin. Of the continental species two were defined 
and named by Professor Owen, from skulls only, (1) as the Phasco- 
lomus latifrons, on account of the great breadth of its head. It is 
identical with P. /asiorhinus, which was proposed by Mr. Gould. 
It has a hairy instead of naked muffle. And (2) the Phascolomys 
platyrhinus ; the skulls had been sent to him from South Aus- 
tralia. The most common Victorian wombat, the large brown 
continental species, is now proved to be the same as the P. platy- 
rhinus of Owen. P. sefosus is found near Adelaide ; the light, ashy, 
yellowish brown colour, and the harsh fur with numerous coarse 
blackish bristles scattered through it, obviously distinguish it from 
other species. The P. niger of Gould is only a variety of P. platy- 
rhinus. Ib isa black wombat obtained from the Goulburn River, 
Victoria. There is a fossil species which stood at least four feet 
hich when alive; Dr. Ramsay named it Sceparnodon. Sir Thomas 
Mitchell disccvered some bones in the Wellington caves. On their 
being submitted to Professor Owen he pronounced them to have 
belonged to a wombat of a distinct species, and larger than those 
now in existence, which he named P. mitchellit after the discoverer, 
According to Sir Frederick McCoy there are four species :—|. 
Tasmanian wombat ; 2. Lasiorhinus ; 3 Platyrhinus ; 4. Setosus. 
The hairy-nosed wombat is found near Port Lincoln and Gawler 
Range, 30 miles to the north of Adelaide. The Tasmanian species 
is the oldest known of the group. It presents a remarkable excep- 
tion to the usual rule of size in Tasmanian animals, these being 
enerally larger instead of smaller than their continental allies, 
*rofessor Tate records that the black variety 1s numerous on Bunda 
Plateau, at the head of the Great Australian Bight. It lives in 
burrows 7 or 8 feet deep, and forms the principal animal food of the 
wild aboriginal. 
