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Visit to the British Museum
RESTORATION OF EXTINCT ANIMALS.
103
occurs with it in the Paris gypsum-beds, but though fairly complete skeletons were at hand, it was always represented, as it is seen in text books, as a heavy, short-legged animal, with a stiff and short neck. A skeleton, however, discovered in 1873, in the same beds, showed the animal so naturally preserved, that there could be no doubt that its right position and form was thus indicated, which show it to be of graceful attitude, and to possess a long, curving neck, making it much more like a Llama than a Tapir, to which it had been previously compared. When the old skeletons, from which Cuvier drew his restorations are examined, it is seen that the graceful neck is there, but the bones have been pressed together, so as to obscure the natural appearance. It was the great difference in the appearance of this animal when restored according to the old and the new skeletons, that first led me to think of the advantage and desirability of having some new restorations attempted. No doubt much has yet to be added before we can rightly people the buri~d ages with their true inhabitants, and the present contribution will show how it is often a slow work to which many successive labourers must lend their hands.
VISIT TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM. (AUSTRAl,IAN FOSSIL "M"ARSUPIALIA.) MARCH
Director-Professor
17TH, 1877.
OWEN,
C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., &c.
( Iieport by CHARLES WHITE, ESQ.)
Proceeding to the Marsupial Case in the Mammalian Gallery, Professor Owen introduced the subject of the Marsupialia to the Members assembled, by submitting to their notice the largest specimen of the jaw of Macropus major which he had been able to obtain from his friends in Australia, at the same time drawing particular attention to the fact that this species of Kangaroo was the largest living Marsupial animal. The Professor then proceeded to describe the dentition of the Marsupials, noting the peculiarities of the individual teeth, dwelling at considerable length upon the structure of the premolars, the prolonged study of which had enabled him to construct,
104
YlSIT TO THE BI\lTISH MUSEUM.
from the remains discovered from time to time, several extinct genera closely allied to the existing Kangaroo, some being of much greater size than the largest living M'acropus, The following have thus been differentiated :-*Tbe Sthenurus, with the pre-molar larger than that of the present Kangaroos; the Protemnodon, with a larger and more trenchant pre-malar-allied to the Kangaroo Rat; the Procoptodon with the pre-molar of a triturant type j and the Palorchestes, hugest of extinct Kangaroos, with generic modifications of the skull. These were successively dealt with, and the jaw of the M acl'opus, finally placed in j uxtaposition with that of the fossil Palorchestes when the marked superiority of size of the extinct animal at once became apparent. Professor Owen then proceeded to treat of the fossil remains of Marsupials allied to the existing Wombat. He next pointed out the evidences of the giants of the Marsupial order, viz., the Diprotodon, with its two large front teeth in the lower jaw, and the Nototherium, with a modified pre-molar and minor development of the inferior incisors. These he characterised as the pachydermatous type of Marsupials, with the dentition in the main of the Kangaroo, the hind-limbs were shorter and thicker, the fore-limbs longer and thicker; they were "gravigrade," not "saltigrade." Finally, the cranial and dental characters of the carnivorous Marsupial, of the size of the lion, were pointed out. To this extinct species, the name of Thylacoleo carnifex had been given. It was the destroyer of the gravigrade marsupial Herbivora, was able to cope with them, and the sole marsupial carnivore hitherto discovered in that relation, just as the Thylacinus makes a victim of the calf or sheep or great kangaroo of Tasmania at the present day. The placental Carnivora played an important part in the economy of nature, as Dr. Buckland remarked, being required to restrain the undue multiplication of the Herbivore, The climate of Australia, and the extreme drought by which it is at times distinguished, and which has been known to extend over three years, was then touched upon, and the characteristic generative economy and structures of the extinct Marsupials were described as being well fitted, as exemplified in the Kangaroo, to allow of the young being carried for long distances in the pouch during the search after water by the parent at the thirstiest period
*' A brief but interesting account of the Marsupials is given in "Old Bones," page 48; a little work by Rev. W. S. Symonds. London: R. Hardwicke, 192, Piccadilly, 1864.
AUSTRALIAN FOSSIL MARSUPIALIA.
105
of her existence, viz., when suckling her progeny. Now the Marsupial structures are associated with certain constant peculiarities in the structure of the skull; the jaws of the Australian Marsupials were similar to those of the opossum discovered by Cuvier in the Gypseous-beds of Montmartre, the pelvis of which was afterwards shown to have the characteristic small Marsupial bones in relation to the economy of the pouch. The fossil mammalian remains from Australia were found both in caverns and in the Drift. The Drift was frequently of great depth, sometimes more thau 100 feet, and in geological age might possibly extend backwards beyond the Tertiary period. At times of excessive flooding, a number of these fossil bones were laid bare by the washing away of their matrix, such seasons, of course, being taken advantage of for collecting them; this had notably been the case in Queensland. The remains of the younger Marsupials were mostly from the caverns, those of the older ones from the Drift. It is noteworthy that of the cavern remains, the skulls, all or nearly all, are cracked or gnawed as by the teeth of carnivora, and the inference naturally is that the younger Marsupials more often fell a prey to .the predatory members of their own Order, whilst the older and stronger herbivores may have escaped. No remains of man have yet been found associated with these remains. Some of these larger forms of Marsupials were possibly coexistent with the first aborigines; man and his dog would naturally attack the largest first. Sir Thomas Mitchell, the first Surveyor-General of Australia, discovered in the Wellington Valley caves thirty years ago a fragment ora lower jaw with a tooth : although of a size which suggested it s relationship to a hippopotamus, it was determined to be marsupial and assigned to an extinct genus. Since that time teeth and bones have been found at various places over a region 1,000 miles across, and these have rendered possible the determination of the structure and habits of the animal, and finally the complete restoration of the Diprotodon Australis. In the course of his address, Professor Owen remarked that " reo chase of any living animal was half so exciting as the pursuit of an extinct one of which a passing glimpse had, as it were, been caught, and, of which, bit by bit, and year after year, one captures the elements for reconstructing the entire creature, of which a single tooth or a few bones had at first formed the sale basis upon which the entire fabric was eventually built."
103
occurs with it in the Paris gypsum-beds, but though fairly complete skeletons were at hand, it was always represented, as it is seen in text books, as a heavy, short-legged animal, with a stiff and short neck. A skeleton, however, discovered in 1873, in the same beds, showed the animal so naturally preserved, that there could be no doubt that its right position and form was thus indicated, which show it to be of graceful attitude, and to possess a long, curving neck, making it much more like a Llama than a Tapir, to which it had been previously compared. When the old skeletons, from which Cuvier drew his restorations are examined, it is seen that the graceful neck is there, but the bones have been pressed together, so as to obscure the natural appearance. It was the great difference in the appearance of this animal when restored according to the old and the new skeletons, that first led me to think of the advantage and desirability of having some new restorations attempted. No doubt much has yet to be added before we can rightly people the buri~d ages with their true inhabitants, and the present contribution will show how it is often a slow work to which many successive labourers must lend their hands.
VISIT TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM. (AUSTRAl,IAN FOSSIL "M"ARSUPIALIA.) MARCH
Director-Professor
17TH, 1877.
OWEN,
C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., &c.
( Iieport by CHARLES WHITE, ESQ.)
Proceeding to the Marsupial Case in the Mammalian Gallery, Professor Owen introduced the subject of the Marsupialia to the Members assembled, by submitting to their notice the largest specimen of the jaw of Macropus major which he had been able to obtain from his friends in Australia, at the same time drawing particular attention to the fact that this species of Kangaroo was the largest living Marsupial animal. The Professor then proceeded to describe the dentition of the Marsupials, noting the peculiarities of the individual teeth, dwelling at considerable length upon the structure of the premolars, the prolonged study of which had enabled him to construct,
104
YlSIT TO THE BI\lTISH MUSEUM.
from the remains discovered from time to time, several extinct genera closely allied to the existing Kangaroo, some being of much greater size than the largest living M'acropus, The following have thus been differentiated :-*Tbe Sthenurus, with the pre-molar larger than that of the present Kangaroos; the Protemnodon, with a larger and more trenchant pre-malar-allied to the Kangaroo Rat; the Procoptodon with the pre-molar of a triturant type j and the Palorchestes, hugest of extinct Kangaroos, with generic modifications of the skull. These were successively dealt with, and the jaw of the M acl'opus, finally placed in j uxtaposition with that of the fossil Palorchestes when the marked superiority of size of the extinct animal at once became apparent. Professor Owen then proceeded to treat of the fossil remains of Marsupials allied to the existing Wombat. He next pointed out the evidences of the giants of the Marsupial order, viz., the Diprotodon, with its two large front teeth in the lower jaw, and the Nototherium, with a modified pre-molar and minor development of the inferior incisors. These he characterised as the pachydermatous type of Marsupials, with the dentition in the main of the Kangaroo, the hind-limbs were shorter and thicker, the fore-limbs longer and thicker; they were "gravigrade," not "saltigrade." Finally, the cranial and dental characters of the carnivorous Marsupial, of the size of the lion, were pointed out. To this extinct species, the name of Thylacoleo carnifex had been given. It was the destroyer of the gravigrade marsupial Herbivora, was able to cope with them, and the sole marsupial carnivore hitherto discovered in that relation, just as the Thylacinus makes a victim of the calf or sheep or great kangaroo of Tasmania at the present day. The placental Carnivora played an important part in the economy of nature, as Dr. Buckland remarked, being required to restrain the undue multiplication of the Herbivore, The climate of Australia, and the extreme drought by which it is at times distinguished, and which has been known to extend over three years, was then touched upon, and the characteristic generative economy and structures of the extinct Marsupials were described as being well fitted, as exemplified in the Kangaroo, to allow of the young being carried for long distances in the pouch during the search after water by the parent at the thirstiest period
*' A brief but interesting account of the Marsupials is given in "Old Bones," page 48; a little work by Rev. W. S. Symonds. London: R. Hardwicke, 192, Piccadilly, 1864.
AUSTRALIAN FOSSIL MARSUPIALIA.
105
of her existence, viz., when suckling her progeny. Now the Marsupial structures are associated with certain constant peculiarities in the structure of the skull; the jaws of the Australian Marsupials were similar to those of the opossum discovered by Cuvier in the Gypseous-beds of Montmartre, the pelvis of which was afterwards shown to have the characteristic small Marsupial bones in relation to the economy of the pouch. The fossil mammalian remains from Australia were found both in caverns and in the Drift. The Drift was frequently of great depth, sometimes more thau 100 feet, and in geological age might possibly extend backwards beyond the Tertiary period. At times of excessive flooding, a number of these fossil bones were laid bare by the washing away of their matrix, such seasons, of course, being taken advantage of for collecting them; this had notably been the case in Queensland. The remains of the younger Marsupials were mostly from the caverns, those of the older ones from the Drift. It is noteworthy that of the cavern remains, the skulls, all or nearly all, are cracked or gnawed as by the teeth of carnivora, and the inference naturally is that the younger Marsupials more often fell a prey to .the predatory members of their own Order, whilst the older and stronger herbivores may have escaped. No remains of man have yet been found associated with these remains. Some of these larger forms of Marsupials were possibly coexistent with the first aborigines; man and his dog would naturally attack the largest first. Sir Thomas Mitchell, the first Surveyor-General of Australia, discovered in the Wellington Valley caves thirty years ago a fragment ora lower jaw with a tooth : although of a size which suggested it s relationship to a hippopotamus, it was determined to be marsupial and assigned to an extinct genus. Since that time teeth and bones have been found at various places over a region 1,000 miles across, and these have rendered possible the determination of the structure and habits of the animal, and finally the complete restoration of the Diprotodon Australis. In the course of his address, Professor Owen remarked that " reo chase of any living animal was half so exciting as the pursuit of an extinct one of which a passing glimpse had, as it were, been caught, and, of which, bit by bit, and year after year, one captures the elements for reconstructing the entire creature, of which a single tooth or a few bones had at first formed the sale basis upon which the entire fabric was eventually built."