THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 65: 
you some little information regarding them, the specimens in 
illustration being selected from my own collection. 
We will begin with Ceratodus, the well-known Dipnoid fish, 
which is now found only in the Mary and Burnett Rivers in 
South Queensland. Dipnoid is a term derived from two 
Greek words signifying ‘‘twice’’ and ‘‘breath,’’ and at once 
explains the peculiarity that has made this creature famous, it 
being provided with a lung in addition to the’ usual gills. 
Popularly Ceratodus is known by a variety of appelations, such 
as “‘Burnett or Mary River salmon’’; but. with these we need 
not trouble ourselves. Cerutodus is truly one of Australia’s 
“living fossils,’’ as, in so far as we can judge, it differs in no 
essential respect, either of structure or appearance, from its 
distant ancestors which existed away down the abyss of time 
in the Palaeozoic period. It is a wonderful thing that this 
fish should have survived practically unchanged, down such 
an unthinkably long period, and it seems the more remark- 
able when we remember what a helpless sluggish creature it 
is, and how ill adapted for migration. Not only are the 
eggs of Verutodus far too fragile and delicate to be trans- 
ported like those of many other fish, on the feet or feathers 
of birds, but the creature itself is absolutely helpless on dry 
land, in spite of its lung, and can only travel by water 
from one spot to another. It never goes into brackish water, 
but confines itself entirely to fresh. The lung is really the 
swim-bladder modified, and the fish can use either this or its. 
gills for breathing. The time when the lung is most useful 
is when through the drying up of the river in which it lives, 
it becomes stranded in stagnant putrid pools in which other 
fish quickly die. Here Ceradotus can live apparently quite at 
ease. Normally it uses both means of breathing, coming to 
the surface for the purpose of refilling its lung. Only two 
other Dipnoi are now found living, these being Lepidosiren in 
the River Amazon and Protopterus in West Africa. In order 
to better distinguish it from its fossil relatives Veratodus is 
now known as \Veo-ceratodus forsteri, Forster’s New Cerato- 
dus. You will observe the curious large scales and the re- 
markable limbs or paddles. For the loan of the beautiful 
coloured model, which way taken from my specimen, I am 
indebted to Mr. R. T. Baker, of the Technological Museum. 
Another creature of the greatest interest is the Marsupial 
mole (Votoryctes typhlops, Stirling) (literally, blind southern 
animal). This beautiful little marsupial, which as ity name. 
implies, is totally blind, occurs only in the sandy wastes of 
Central Australia. Its food seems to consist of worms and 
small insects, in pursuit of which it burrows with amazing 
ease through the sand, coming at intervals to the surface. 
Notice how beautifully adapted are the powerful fore claws. 
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