THE ANCIENT GIANTS OF AUSTRALIA,

Colonist, Issue 60, 18 May 1858, Page 3

THE ANCIENT GIANTS OF AUSTRALIA,

(From the Sydney Mdr'ning Herald.) In our Sydney Museum there are now to be seen the fossil remains of no less than seven different species of a marsupial family of mammals, which formely lived on this Australian continent, but which appear long ago to have become quits extinct. All were large animals, and some surpassed even the elephant in size. They seemed to have lived on vegetable food, and in muCh the same way as elephants and tapirs do at present. Their affinity, or general nature, however, was nearer to that of the kangarobtribe than to that of any other nti«r existing, and they have been called the Diprotodontoid family, or Diprotodontides, because the first of them described was named Diprotodon by Professor Owen, the learned chief of the zoolugical department of the British Museum.

No collection iv the world is so rich in these interesting fossils as oiir Australian MuseUni. But this might easily be made still more complete by a little trouble on the part of the gentlemen who reside io the neighborhood of the Condamine Kiver and its tributary creeks. It is indeed to one of these gentlemen, Mr. F. N. Isaacs, of Gowrie, Darling Downs, that the Museum .is indebted for the possession of a skull of what Prefessor Owen considers to have been one of the most extraordinary of all quadrupeds, namely, the Zygomaturus. The following account of the animal, and of the unique skull in our Museum, was given in a list of donations to the Museum, published in the Sydney Morning Herald, of September 9th, 1857-

" Fossil skull of a new marsupial animal, which bears a riearer approach to Diprotodon than to any known genus. The size was apparently that of a large ox ; and the skull agrees with that of the Megatherium, and others of the the American tardigrade edentata (living and extinct) ia Having, a long apophynis descending from the zygomatic arch as well as in oiher particulars. However, this process of the zygoma exists 1 in the Diprotodon, and may be detected even.in the kangaroo. Another characteristic of this new quadrupfed, which may be called Zygoinaturus, is the great distance of the zygoma'tic arch from the temporal bone. The breadth of the skull at the widest part, namely, about the centre of the zygoma, is fifteen inches; the extreme length of thfl .skull is about eighteen inches. In the Diprotodon the skull is on ihe other band about three feet long by one Lot eight inches broad ; so I hat while the Diprotodon must have had a feLcies somewhat like that of a kangaroo, the facies of the Zygomaturus must have been about as broad and short in proportion as that of a wombat. The lower jaw of ihe specimen in the Museum is wanting, but the. formula of dentition in the upper jaw is as follow:—6 incisors, 9 canines, 10 molars. The two front incisors are very long and strong, as in the kangaroo and Diprotodon; The above dental formula agrees with that of Diprotodon, except that the latter animal had only eight molars in the upper jaw. The Zygomaturus had many points of structure approaching those of the rhinoceros and tapir family. For instance, the molars resembled in form those of the tapirs, while the nasal septum may remind us of the rhinocerous tichorhinus, a fossil species that formerly inhabited England and other parts of Europe. The strong and very prominent trefoil-shaped arch formed by the extremity of the nasal boiies, shews that if the Zygomaturus did not possess a snout, like that of a tapir, it must, at least, like a rhinoceros, have had a horn (perhaps a double one) on the nose. Without doubt this horn was used for grubbing up the roots of aquatic plants, since, like the pachyderms, to which it bears so close an affinity, in all probability the Zygomaturus passed its life in marshy-places. The extraordinary width of the temporal fosses denotes that the animal possessed enormous powers of biting and mastication. This skull belonged to an adult animal, as the molars are considerably ground down. Also, the upper jaw of a young Zygomaturus, as appears by the tips of the molars being perfect. Another portion 6f an upper jaw, arid a hurrierus, probably of a Zygomaturus ; base of left ramus of the lower jaw of Diprotodon; and front incisors-'of ditto. AH the above fossil remains are from King's Creek, Darling Downs, being the same locality whence the entire skull of the Diprotodon was obtained some years ago. Presented by Frederick Neville Isaacs, Esq., Growrie, Darling Downs."

The seven species already discovered may be assigned to four genera,^—viz;,

Two' to Diprcxtodo'n. Two' to Nototherium, One to Zygomaturbs. Two to a new genus' wtiicb has p'rovisioiially been called Hemicyclo'don.

The correspondent of the 'Daily News at Constantinople writes that he received a private letter from Persia (Teheran, December 26) which memtions that the shah had just contributed 1000 tomauns (£soo)', and the prime minister 500, to the Indian Relief Fund, through' Mr. Murray. He adds:^-" In the teeth of the current reports' that the Persian government -wished success to, if, it had not actually helped to excite, the sepoy revolt, this item of news is especially interesting ; affording, as it does, the strongest illustration yet given of the entire want of Sympathy with; the mutineers on the part of one and all of the great Mahomedan powers. Though the sultan's contrir bution to thefund was double the amount of this gift fromthe shah, it was ho more than we had a right, in his case, to expect; whereas our late relations with the court of Teheran give a value to this act: of the latter eoverign and his Sadr which cannot be easily over-rated." ,