AUSTRALIA’S FAUNA

Hokitika Guardian, 12 June 1924, Page 3

AUSTRALIA’S FAUNA

A HUGE SKELETON. SYDNEY. Aiti.v 20. A large hatch of animals, birds, and reptiles which, with his party of collectors he lias obtained in the north of Australia for the British Museum lias been brought south by Captain G. 11. Wilkins, the noted Australian airman, j scientist, and exploder. Captain Wilkins has not yet completed his big task, although It months have been spent on it. but he hopes to go to England early next year to arrange the collection, portions of which have already been despatched. Soon after that lie hopes to make an expedition to Antarctica for the purpose of ostnlslishing meeorological stations. This venture, however, will probably depend ui)ou the fimmi'inl support that i- offered to him in Australia. In discussing hi* find- in Northern Australia. Captain Wilkins said that one of the most interesting specimens which he has -o far sent hack to England was flint ni )t large li*h lizard from Flinders River district, and his next job will lie to attempt to excavate a complete skeleton (which has been located), measuring about Holt, in length, and weighing several tons. It is a type well-known to geologists, lint only fragments of its remains have been collected hitherto. Captain Wilkins said he found conditions in the tropics very different from those that prevailed at the polar regions— to which he had made two journeys, one with Dr V. Stcfansson. and the other with Mr J. L. Cope—for. whereas one could work at full pressure from 12 to 11 hours a day for several months in the polar regions, this was impossible in Northern Queensland. He had already forwarded to the British Museum a

great many of the specimens he discovered. and several of the more valuable specimens had been presented t<:

the Museums of the States in which those specimens were collected. This principle would he adhered to. and all the State Museums would also he presented with replicas of everything found, wherever that was possible. Captain Wilkins said part of his task was to locate tile .specimens in definite localities. Numbers of Australian spec imens were already included in the natural history of the British .Museum, hut they had been lolleefcd hetore Australia had been divided into State-, and they wen- merely labelled as having mine from the north, south. east and west id Australia. "We found that Australian fauna differs miisiderably in neighbourin'-'

area-." he said. "Certain specimenwill lie inclined to a district 2b nr Jit miles in area, and there i- also a great dill'eri'iiee between the cca-t land and that in the interior. The exploration in the mirth lin* resulted ill the dc--rnioon not the dt-mvery id several new types w Ilii'h have disappeared entirely. and many of the rare specie* will lie difficult tn obtain, but there is

still a great deal of interesting material tu lie I'ldlei ted. especially in regard to those mammals of nocturnal and arboreal habits. During the first few months id tin* visit seasonal conditions interfered with our work. hut si ore the rain fell at the beginning of tic year our collection id data mill specimens has increased greatly, and I expect that the work tu lie carried on in Central Queensland and tilling the western shore of the Gulf id' Carpentaria will furnish sitin' interesting rc-