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ir work is branch of science.
I M AVE and. Willughby wrote their wor ks on this C
iSO, arcgre ame { P

c f i % 1S apes 26 « > y eo a
17th century that Aldrovandus, £ Europe were better known ; Africa had been for a long
O

| ‘| > pr ‘tions
At this comparatively late period, the pt oduc

. ie - S Sees manne furnis
I fauna partially brought to light 5 India also in like mi r shed
its southern fauna pe j f ‘

a ins avioate nd = Neue eal ex Late ‘ ene
oe : - k 10wledge. N hat Alexander ’s Cc ele br ated expedition
to the stock of human 1 LS \

‘h sparingly : on
Pemeuee uous Sbens Y ‘es of Columbus did by shedding a new light upon

: oe: ere
did for the naturalists Aristotle and Pliny, the discove

“writers above mentioned. Linneus, the greatest
sh fe modern writers abo

i@ fresh food to the

5

zoological science, and furnishu |
extended knowledge of the .
rous writings is considerable. Still, the southern land

natural productions of the globe, and the informa-
rstematists, had a very
of all systematists, he 5
“ i im in his nume
tion this great man has left behind him in

5 vs i rhic is work is in ended to illus rate) was a
| j we esl te A st ralia (the mammalian products of W hic bh this wo! k Is { trat ) as ¢
Ww ich Vi d s1gna ustYrallc

se OK t S eg S t 5 i sal ‘ its oC ig i reanized anima S
| 1 b | ] ] As r oard 5 his orea countr yy 1U may be said that 1ts most highly O - Cc Cc c Is,
aled (0) ¢ tO him. fis ° c x Ss { iy t y Ss Ss S

we e yt t 7 ft Varl 1 S »C1eS of I oden Ss, an | he eq t a

frugivorous Bats, both of which rank among the et of the ees : mee B ae a
but feebly represented; in Africa and India none of this form exist. On the other ee a aliz ae
great country of these pouched animals ; they are universally distributed throughout ee ne extent, —
north to south, and from east to west; and they are not even absent from the neighbouring islands. Their
presence in Tasmania on the south, and New Guinea on the north, testifies that these countries were
formerly united to the mainland, and constituted a great natural division of the globe, characterized by a
similar fauna and flora. It will be unnecessary for me to state that none of the Quadrumana, or Monkeys,
are found in Australia; and that neither the Lion, the Tiger, the Leopard, nor any other of the Feline,

roam among its forests, to disturb the harmony of its generally peaceful quadrupeds.

The great groups of the Bovine, or Oxen, the Equine, or Horses and Zebras, the stately Elephant, the
huge Rhinoceros, as well as the Cervide, or Deer-kind, and the Antelopes, are totally unknown in Australia ;
yet the great grassy plains and other physical features of the country would appear to be well adapted for
them and also for the smaller herbivorous quadrupeds, such as the Hare, the Rabbit, &c. Why there
should occur so great a difference between the animals of Australia and those of the other countries of the
world it is not for me to say. But I may ask, has creation been arrested in this strange land ? and, if not,
why are these higher types denied to it? Whatever opinion may be formed on_ this interesting subject,
it is generally believed that no more highly organized animals than those which are now found there ever
roamed over her plains or tenanted her luxuriant brushes. At the same time, the partially fossilized remains
of distinct species of Kangaroos which have been discovered in her stalactitic caves, and the huge skeletons,

or parts of skeletons, which have been exhumed from her alluvial beds, testify that Australia must be of
remote origin. is scarce essary to remark th; se remai 1
g It is scarcely necessary to remark that all these remains belong to Marsupial animals; nor
must it be imagined th é ivi ‘the fact th; i thi
ag at I'am oblivious of the fact that the remains of members of this group have been
found in the older tertiar ; ;
ertiary and se ry strat “ope aaa . :
ary and secondary strata of Europe. I merely glance at these things, and leave their
consideration to those who pay special attention to the sister SC

lence of geology.
Although the more highly org

anized animals do not inhabit, and

Fs seem never to have inhabited Australia,
It 1s not a little Interesting to obser

ve how completely the law

of representation is manifested among her
typifies another in the

higher groups of the Placentalia; or,

the Kangaroos, the Fe

mammals—how one family
to note how the Herbivora

the Hapalotides, &e.

to be more explicit,
are represented by

line by the Dasyures, the Jerboas by

in his work on Paleontology,