bone, by the
un, and other
e the size of
the placental
» as in Plagi.
cates that the

resemblance

30 degrees of
ossible, while
The parts of
x more to the
. their proper
1 most heated
sive that the
1 great sterile
oy rivers. In
es have lately
ids which will
tensive oases
le uncertainty
1e case, while
ful influence
rganized that
nera Mus and
stituted ; and
the ‘ Birds of
yf lizards and
rer, be put to
onsoon in the
e of the inte-
rought, which
ay call them,
in character ;
ranges, of no
racting rains,
ntic trees and
. those of any
hese giants of
; they do not

ristics of land

rN TR ODU ClO N: XV

wherein the settler would not choose to risk his fortune. The great physical features of Australia, then, as
a whole, are the absence of high mountains and navigable rivers, its heated interior, its vast grassy plains,
and its luxuriant brushes, particularly on its southern and south-eastern coasts. Over the whole of this
extensive country, with its ever-varying climate, certain groups of animals are universally spread, while
others, particularly the more isolated forms, are strictly confined to their own districts, each adapted for
some special end and purpose,—as much as the long bill of the Humming-bird (Docimastes ensiferus) is
evidently formed for exploring the lengthened tubular corollas of the Brugmansie, or the greatly curved bill
of two species of the same family of birds (the Hutoveres Aquila and E. Condamine?) is for insertion into the
honey-cups of the Coryanthes speciosa and its allies,—or, to take a more striking instance, as the brush-like
tongues of the numerous honey-feeding Parrakeets and Honey-eaters of Australia are constituted for obtaining
the nectar from the flowers of the universally spread and equally numerous Lucalypti which form so prominent

a feature in the flora of that country.

I will now give, as far as my knowledge of the subject will permit, an enumeration of Australian mammals,
the extent of their range, &c. In doing this, I shall commence with the Monotrematous section of the
Marsupiata, which includes the Ornithorhynchus and two species of Echidna; 1 shall then proceed to the
genera Myrmecobius, Tarsipes, Cheropus, Peragalea, Perameles, Phascolarctos, Phalangista, Cuscus, Petaurista,
Belideus, Phascogale, Sarcophilus, Dasyurus, Thylacinus, and Phascolomys; and these will be fo.lowed by the
great family of Kangaroos, with remarks upon their structural differences and the especial object for which
these appear to have been designed ; next we shall come to the feebly represented Placentals, the Seals, and

Rodents ; and lastly, to the species of Pteropus and other Bats.

I have considered that, in a large illustrated work like the ‘Mammals of Australia,’ it would be out of
place to enter into the anatomy of the objects I have represented. I have therefore omitted all details of
this kind; neither have I included therein a repetition of the generic characters and Latin descriptions
which have appeared in general works on Mammalogy, where they may be easily referred to. Those
who wish to enter more fully into the generic characters of the Australian mammals will find all the
information they can wish for in Mr. Waterhouse’s valuable work, entitled ‘A Natural History of the
Mammalia,’ a publication of such great promise and merit, that it becomes a matter of surprise
and regret to all interested in this branch of science that the publisher decided upon not continuing

it to its completion.

It will be observed that I have entirely omitted the Whales, Porpesses, and Dugong, my reason for so
doing being that I had not sufficient opportunities for studying those animals in a state of nature, and there-
fore have not attempted that which I did not understand, and consequently could not have accomplished in a
satisfactory manner. With regard to the Dugong, I must not omit thanking my relative, Charles Coxen, Esq.,
of Queensland, for his attention in sending me a skin and part of the skeleton of this animal; but even with
these materials I found I could not produce an accurate representation of it in the living state. Although I
do not inflict upon my readers the characters and distinctions of genera, I must not pass over unnoticed the
principal features which distinguish the Marsupiata from the Placental Mammalia. In the first place, the
former are considered to be much less highly organized than the latter: according to Professor Owen, the
brain is deficient in both the corpus callosum and the septum lucidum; the cerebrum is small in proportion

d