BURROWING MARSUPIALS 
WoMBATS 
The Zoological Gardens are rarely, if ever, without 
these fat somewhat uncouth marsupials, suggestive of 
an overgrown marmot. They are coarsely hairy, and 
waddle when unexcited, though when needs must they 
can run with some rapidity. The stumpy tail heightens 
the likeness to the European marmot, as do also the 
strong and rodent-like incisor teeth in the front of 
the jaws. In fact, as has been often pointed out, the 
wombat is an excellent example of what is known as 
convergence ; starting from a totally different place in 
the order of nature it has arrived at much the same 
goalas has the marmot or some such burrowing rodent. 
It walks heavily on the flat of the feet, and eats roots 
for which it digs. In the burrows there is some degree 
of sociability exhibited; and this again is a rodent- 
like character. One has only to recall the prairie mar- 
mots, and the vizcachas of North and South America. 
It has, however, the pouch of the ordinary marsupial 
pattern ; and its young are doubtless born in imper- 
fection as those of other marsupials, though that matter 
is for the present shrouded in some obscurity. Although 
nocturnal in their native Australia and Tasmania, the 
wombats at the Zoo show themselves during the day 
like other nocturnal beasts do in that institution. Like 
many other marsupials, the ‘‘ pouched mouse,” to trans- 
late its scientific name of Phascolomys is for the most 
part silent; it is not without interest that silence 
is apt to be an attribute of primitiveness and chatter 
due to higher specialization. We all of us know the 
silent man whose few recorded words were not in- 
dicative of great brain power. Anyhow newts are silent 
and so are reptiles and many of the older types of birds, 
while the marsupials and rodents and insectivores carry 
on the generalization into the mammals. At times, 
however, the wombat hisses; one species is said to 
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