. Elementary text-book of zoology. MAMMALIA. 503 Distribution.—The Family of the Opossums is found extendiag throughout the American continent, except the extreme north. The other three families are found in Australia or the Australian district, including Tasmania and New Guinea. This present-day distribution of Polyprotodontia differs from that of the past. There are a large number of meso- zoic mammals found widely scattered in Britain, Europe, United States and elsewhere, which, mainly in their dental character, seem to resemble the modern Polyproto- dontia (especially Myrmecobius). These a
. Elementary text-book of zoology. MAMMALIA. 503 Distribution.—The Family of the Opossums is found extendiag throughout the American continent, except the extreme north. The other three families are found in Australia or the Australian district, including Tasmania and New Guinea. This present-day distribution of Polyprotodontia differs from that of the past. There are a large number of meso- zoic mammals found widely scattered in Britain, Europe, United States and elsewhere, which, mainly in their dental character, seem to resemble the modern Polyproto- dontia (especially Myrmecobius). These appear to indicate that the distribution of the Polyprotodontia was in these early times much wider than at present (cf. Diprotodontia). Fig. 348.—Inner View of Left Ramus of Lower Jaw OF Amphilestes Broderipi. (From Flower and Lyddeker, after Owen.). From the Stonesfield Slate. Order II.—Diprotodontia. The Diprotodontia are essentially herbivorous, and hence they have few chisel-shaped incisors, never exceeding f and in some cases being reduced to \. The incisors of the lower jaw never exceed one pair, hence the name of the order. The lower canines are always lost, and often the upper molars have not the sharp cusps of the Polyproto- dontia but have blunt tubercles more suited for crushing vegetable food. The limbs vary in character, but they always have the syndactylic hind-foot described in the kangaroo. (This feature is also found in the Peramelidce.) Family I.—Macropodidae.—A large family of kangaroos and their allies. The kangaroo has been used as a type of metatherian skeleton. The hind-limbs and tail are enormously developed for. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Masterman, Arthur Thomas. Edinburgh, E. & S. Livingstone
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