The most perfect list of the mammals of Australia which has yet appeared is in the appendix to Capt. Gray's Travels in North-west and Western Australia, compiled by J. E. Gray, Esq., of the British Museum. Since its publication (1841) a few additional species have been added to the fauna of Tasmania, and a few of the smaller animals, probably, remain still to be described; but they will not materially affect the following list, which is compiled from the table by Mr. Gray, and a subsequent History of the Marsupiata, by G. R. Waterhouse (1846):—

This makes a total of twenty-six mammals inhabiting Tasmania, exclusive of the Seals and Cetacea, with which our acquaintance is still very imperfect.

From the above list it will be perceived, with the exception of the three bats, two mice, and one water-rat, that all our mammals are either Marsupial (pouched) or Monotrematous (a closely-allied form, to which belong the platypus and porcupine of the colonists). Orders found in other countries, such as the Pachydermata and Ruminantia, are in Tasmania wholly wanting, as they are also throughout the extensive continent of Australia.

It is also remarkable that twelve out of the twenty-six animals are peculiar to this small island, and have not yet been detected elsewhere. Amongst those thus limited in their geographical range are the tiger and devil of the colonists, the two largest indigenous Australian carnivorous quadrupeds.

Australia is the great metropolis of the marsupial animals. Certain species of the group are found in North and South America, and in New Guinea, the Moluccas, and adjacent islands, but the numbers seem limited as compared with the other indigenous quadrupeds of those countries. Professor Owen observes:—"That the marsupialia form one great natural group is now generally admitted by zoologists. The representatives in that group of many of the orders of the more extensive placental sub-class of the mammalia of the larger continents have also been recognised in the existing genera and species:—the Dasyures, for example, play the parts of the Carnivora, the Bandicoots of the Insectivora, the Phalangers of the Quadrumana, the Wombat of the Rodentia, and the Kangaroos, in a remoter degree, that of the Ruminantia."[268]

The Tiger or HyÆna of the colonists (Thylacinus cynocephalus, Harris) is a very powerful animal, about the size of a large dog, with short legs. It is of a tawny or brownish yellow color, with numerous black bands arranged transversely along the back, from the shoulders to the tail; hence the erroneous names tiger and hyÆna, given to it by the early settlers. The muzzle is rather elongated, the ears short and erect, and the pupils elliptical, corresponding with its leaping, predaceous habits; if it had the characteristic brush instead of a long taper tail, its figure would bear a considerable resemblance to that of the fox. The female is much smaller, but more active and supple in its movements than the male. They prey upon kangaroos, opossums, bandicoots, and other native animals; hunting by night, their exquisite sense of smell enables them to steal cautiously upon these defenceless animals, in the thick covers of the low grassy flats and scrubs, or to run them down on the more open hill and forest land. They are not very fleet, but follow the track with untiring perseverance, occasionally uttering a kind of low smothered bark. They never hunt in packs, but a male and female, or a bitch, with two or three half-grown pups, have occasionally been seen together, in pursuit of game.

The Thylacine kills sheep, but usually confines its attack to one at a time, and is therefore by no means so destructive to a flock as the domestic dog become wild, or as the Dingo of Australia, which both commit vast havoc in a single night. High rewards have always, however, been given by sheep-owners for their destruction; and, as every available spot of land is now occupied, it is probable that in a very few years this animal, so highly interesting to the zoologist, will become extinct; it is now extremely rare, even in the wildest and least frequented parts of the island. A male and female were sent to the Zoological Society of London during the present year (1850), and were the first that ever reached Europe alive.

The Devil (Dasyurus ursinus, Geoff.), about the size of a bull terrier, is an exceedingly fierce and disgusting looking animal, of a black color, usually having one white band across the chest, and another across the back, near the tail. It is a perfect glutton, and most indiscriminate in its feeding; nothing comes amiss to it; it lives chiefly upon carrion, the smaller native animals, and occasionally attacks sheep, principally, however, lambs and the weakly or diseased; even one of its own kind, caught in a snare, is attacked and devoured without mercy. They are very numerous in some localities, and from their smaller size will probably longer survive the war of extermination carried on against them.

The other two species of Dasyurus, viz., the Tiger cat (Dasyurus maculatus, Shaw) and Native cat (Dasyurus viverrinus, Shaw), are similar in their habits to the pole-cat and marten of England, from which they do not differ materially in size, and prove equally destructive to the poultry yard. The Native cat varies a good deal in color, many being black with white spots; but the usual and prevailing color is a greyish tan or yellow, with white spots; and from these mere varieties some naturalists have constituted two species. Great numbers of Native cats are killed in some localities for the sake of their skins, which are formed into rugs by the shepherds.

The Phascogales are small insectivorous animals, found on the mountains and in the dense forest parts of the island, and little is known of their habits.

The two species of Bandicoot (Perameles obesula, Shaw, and P. Gunnii, Gray), are very common throughout the colony, living upon insects and roots.

The Opossums usually abound where grass is to be found, lodging by day in the holes and hollows of trees. The most common species is the Phalangista vulpina (Shaw), under which is placed both the black and grey opossums. These animals are much sought after by the servants on most farms for the sake of feeding their dogs with the flesh, and forming the skins into rugs; an opossum (or kangaroo) skin rug being the principal bedding of all the shepherds, stock-keepers, and laborers in the more remote parts of the colony. When travelling from one station to another, and sleeping in the open air, these men always carry a rug with them; and wrapped in this, with his feet to the fire, the bushman sleeps on the ground warm and comfortable, even in the coldest nights, with no other shelter save a log or a few boughs to windward; and this was generally all the shelter used by the aborigines. The fur on the opossums in the mountains and cooler parts of the island is thicker and better adapted for rugs than on those obtained from the sea coast or the warmer settled districts. The Ringtail opossum (Phalangista or Hepoona Cookii, Desm.) is smaller, less common, and less sought after, for dogs will not eat the flesh of the Ringtail even when roasted.

The Flying squirrel, or opossum of Port Phillip (Petaurus sciureus, Desm.), was introduced from that colony between the years 1834 and 1839: many of those so introduced escaped from confinement, and from the numbers which have been killed around Launceston since that period they have evidently increased and established themselves amongst the denizens of our woods. No species, however, of flying opossum is indigenous to Tasmania.

The Wombat, more commonly called in the colony Badger (Phascolomys wombat, Peron.), is an animal weighing forty to eighty pounds, having a large body, with short legs. Notwithstanding its burrowing habits, and the excessive thickness and toughness of its skin, it is usually so easily killed, that it is becoming less and less common.

The Kangaroo rats (Hypsiprymnus cuniculus, Ogilby, and H. murinus, Ill.) are small animals, like kangaroos in their form and mode of progression, but require few remarks, as they are not killed either for food or their skins. They are not numerous anywhere. Dogs will not usually eat them.

Our best known animals, however, are the Kangaroos, of which we have three species, distinguished by the names of Forester, Brush, and Wallaby.

The Forester (Macropus major, Shaw), the male being known by the name of "boomer," and the young female by that of "flying doe," is the largest and only truly gregarious species,—now nearly extinct in all the settled or occupied districts of the island, and rare everywhere. This species afforded the greatest sport and the best food to the early settlers, an individual weighing 100 to 140 pounds. It is much to be regretted that this noble animal is likely so soon to be exterminated. It was usually hunted by large powerful dogs, somewhat similar to the Scotch deer hounds; and when closely pressed had the remarkable peculiarity of always taking to the water where practicable. A modern kangaroo hunt has been thus graphically described by the Honorable Henry Elliot, in Gould's splendid work on the MacropodidÆ:—

"I have much pleasure in telling you all I know of the kangaroo-hunting in Van Diemen's Land. The hounds are kept by Mr. Gregson, and have been bred by him from fox-hounds imported from England; and though not so fast as most hounds here now are, they are quite as fast as it is possible to ride to in that country. The 'boomer' is the only kangaroo which shows good sport, for the strongest 'brush' kangaroo cannot live above twenty minutes before the hounds; but as the two kinds are always found in perfectly different situations we never were at a loss to find a 'boomer,' and I must say that they seldom failed to show us good sport. We generally 'found' in a high cover of young wattles, but sometimes we 'found' in the open forest, and then it was really pretty to see the style in which a good kangaroo would go away. I recollect one day in particular, when a very fine 'boomer' jumped up in the very middle of the hounds, in the 'open:' he at first took a few high jumps with his head up, looking about him to see on which side the coast was clearest, and then, without a moment's hesitation, he stooped forward and shot away from the hounds, apparently without an effort, and gave us the longest run I ever saw after a kangaroo. He ran fourteen miles by the map from point to point, and if he had had fair play I have very little doubt but that he would then have beat us; but he had taken along a tongue of land which ran into the sea, so that, on being pressed, he was forced to try to swim across the arm of the sea, which, at the place where he took the water, cannot have been less than two miles broad; in spite of a fresh breeze and a head sea against him, he got fully half-way over, but he could not make head against the waves any further, and was obliged to turn back, when, being quite exhausted, he was soon killed.

"The distance he ran, taking in the different bends in the line, cannot have been less than eighteen miles, and he certainly swam more than two. I can give no idea of the length of time it took him to run this distance, but it took us something more than two hours; and it was evident, from the way in which the hounds were running, that he was a long way before us; and it was also plain that he was still fresh, as, quite at the end of the run, he went over the top of a very high hill, which a tired kangaroo never will attempt to do, as dogs gain so much on them in going up hill. His hind quarters weighed within a pound or two of seventy pounds, which is large for the Van Diemen's Land kangaroo, though I have seen larger.

"We did not measure the length of the hop of this kangaroo; but on another occasion, when the 'boomer' had taken along the beach, and left his prints in the sand, the length of each jump was found to be just fifteen feet, and as regular as if they had been stepped by a sergeant. When a 'boomer' is pressed, he is very apt to take the water, and then it requires several good dogs to kill him, for he stands waiting for them, and as soon as they swim up to the attack, he takes hold of them with his fore feet, and holds them under water. The buck is altogether very bold, and will generally make a stout resistance; for if he cannot get to the water, he will place his back against a tree, so that he cannot be attacked from behind, and then the best dog will find in him a formidable antagonist.

"The doe, on the contrary, is a very timid creature, and I have even seen one die of fear. It was in a place where we wished to preserve them, and as soon as we found that we were running a doe we stopped the hounds, just at the moment they were running into her. She had not received the slightest injury, but she lay down and died in about ten minutes. When a doe is beat she generally makes several sharp doubles, and then gets among the branches or close to the trunk of a fallen tree, and remains so perfectly still that she will allow you almost to ride over her without moving, and in this way she often escapes.

"A tolerably good kangaroo will generally give a run of from six to ten miles; but in general they do not run that distance in a straight line, but make one large ring back to the place where they were found, though the larger ones often go straight away."

The Brush kangaroo (Macropus [Halmaturus] Bennettii, Waterh.) is universally distributed over Tasmania, and in some localities was formerly very numerous indeed, but the war of extermination constantly waged at all seasons against this species, for the sake of its skin, has, in many places, entirely destroyed it, and rendered it scarce everywhere. Many thousands of skins have been annually exported from Launceston alone, and nearly all the leather used in the colony for ladies' and gentlemen's boots and shoes is made from the skin of the brush kangaroo, which is thicker and better than that of the larger species.

The Wallaby (Macropus [Halmaturus] Billardieri, Desm.) is the smallest species of kangaroo, and inhabits thickets; and although described by Mr. Gould as being gregarious, is never seen in flocks, as is the forester kangaroo.

All the different species of kangaroo are admirable food, and are now in much request by the residents in the towns as a delicacy, having in soup a flavor somewhat similar to that of hare. No others of the indigenous quadrupeds are usually used for food, although occasionally bushmen eat the wombat and echidna, and, more rarely, the bandicoots and kangaroo rats.

The Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus, Shaw) has for many years been so great a subject of interest to the zoological world that little is left to detail. It is still not uncommon in the pools and small streams on the table land of the western mountains; at the source of the river Derwent, Lake St. Clair; and in most of the rivers and streams in the more remote parts. Those who feel any interest in the peculiar structure of this very remarkable animal, and its congener the Porcupine (Echidna setosa, Cuv.), can find full details in Professor Owen's very elaborate and admirable paper, in the CyclopÆdia of Anatomy and Physiology, on the Monotremata.[269]

Nearly all the Tasmanian quadrupeds are nocturnal in their habits, or, when not strictly so, feed principally during the morning and evening twilight: and as few of our mountains exceed four or five thousand feet of elevation above the sea level, most of the animals are distributed over the whole island, being merely influenced in their range by the greater or less abundance of food.

All the larger species of indigenous mammals will rapidly diminish under the united efforts of Europeans and their attendant dogs. No species is protected, and no species spared. As the Marsupialia are not prolific, the extinction of several species may soon be anticipated, from the circumstance that the unsettled parts of the island, to which they have been driven, are comparatively destitute of grass, and unfit for the support of graminivorous animals.

It may here be observed that the Dingo of New Holland never inhabited Van Diemen's Land; and although wild dogs were at one time troublesome in a few districts, yet they were merely the domestic dogs become wild (many having from time to time been abandoned by their masters—aborigines and convicts), and were soon destroyed. European rats and mice are now common all over the island: the domestic cat, also, has in many localities become wild, and proves very destructive to quails, and those birds which \ are much on the ground.

SECTION II—BIRDS

Unlike the mammals, there is nothing in the general aspect of the birds of Tasmania to distinguish them from those of other countries; there are, however, some peculiar forms, but they are not of such a nature as to strike the eye. Many of the birds of Europe are represented here, as the hawks, owls, swallows, snipe, ducks, &c., and not a few have received English names, from the real or fancied resemblance which they bear to their British prototypes, as the magpies, wrens, robins, &c.

Mr. John Gould, in his splendid and elaborate work, The Birds of Australia, has so completely illustrated and described the birds of Australia, including those of Tasmania, that little remains to be done by those who follow him. Whether we look at this magnificent work for its beauty, or its accuracy, we cannot help feeling rejoiced that so interesting a portion of the natural history of Tasmania should have been so ably illustrated. According to Mr. Gould's work, Tasmania possesses 170 species,[270] of which only a few, so far as at present known, are peculiar to it, that is, have not yet been found in any other part of Australia. In the 170 are included some occasional and rare visitants to our shores, but several others will, no doubt, have hereafter to be added; this is, however, a close enough approximation for all ordinary purposes.

The 170 birds may be divided into the following orders and genera:—

From the above table the ornithologist will form an idea of the character of our birds; but it will be well to proceed a little more into detail.

Among the thirteen raptorial birds the eagle (Aquila audax, Lath.) takes the foremost place. It is about the size of the golden eagle of Europe; and being destructive to young lambs in some localities, a constant war is waged against it by the shepherds, and it is becoming rapidly scarce.

The beautiful white hawk (Astur NovÆ HollandiÆ, Cuv.), erroneously called an albino by Mr. Gould, once very abundant, is now becoming rare, having been nearly extirpated for the sake of its skin by the zeal of bird collectors. The other raptorial birds possess little to distinguish them from those of other countries.

Many of the genera of the perchers are peculiar to Australia; and the brush-like tongues of many species, formed for extracting the honey from flowers, have been classed amongst the Australian anomalies. The parrot tribe is the most attractive to strangers, and eleven species, belonging to not less than eight genera, are found in Tasmania. The green and rose-hill parrots (Platycercus flaviventris, Temm., and P. eximius, Shaw) occur in immense flocks in some places, and prove very destructive to the ripe grain in the fields, as also injuring the roofs of corn stacks in the barn yards. The white cockatoos (Cacatua galerita, Lath.) were at one time to be seen in immense flocks, but are now becoming scarce. Many of the parrots have beautiful plumage, and the white cockatoo and rose-hill parrot have occasionally been taught to speak.

Two pigeons and four species of quail are all the rasorial birds in the island; the true gallinaceous birds being wholly wanting.

Of the thirty species of grallatores the most remarkable is the emu. Very few individuals can now exist in the island, and it is to be feared that its total extinction will be effected ere it can be ascertained whether the Tasmanian bird is identical with that of New Holland. Tame emus are common in the colony, but the original stock of most of those now domesticated was introduced from Port Phillip.

The fifty-nine species of swimming birds include many sea birds which inhabit the Antarctic, Southern Indian, and South Pacific Oceans. That "rara avis," the black swan, once so common that rivers, bays, points, &c., received their names, but a few years ago, from its abundance, is now becoming truly a rara avis in the settled parts of the island, having been driven from its old haunts by that great intruder, the white man. Ducks are numerous, of many species, and form admirable articles of food. The sooty petrel (Puffinus brevicaudus, Brandt.), or mutton bird, occurs in immense flocks in Bass' Strait. Captain Flinders, in his Voyage to Terra Australis,[271] says that when near the north-west extremity of Van Diemen's Land he saw a stream of sooty petrels from fifty to eighty yards in depth, and of three hundred yards or more in breadth. The birds were not scattered, but flying as compactly as a free movement of their wings seemed to allow; and during a full hour and a-half this stream of petrels continued to pass without interruption, at a rate little inferior to the swiftness of the pigeon. On the lowest computation he thought the number could not have been less than a hundred millions. This bird burrows in the ground, forming what are called by the sealers in the Straits, rookeries; and a considerable trade was at one time carried on in their feathers, eggs, and salted bodies.[272]

With the exception of the pretty but gaudy parrot tribe, our most beautiful birds may be said to be the wren (Malurus longicaudus, Gould), the grosbeak (Estrelda bella, Lath.), the king-fisher (Alcyone Diemenensis, Gould), the diamond birds (Pardalotus species), and the satin fly-catcher (Myiagra nitida, Gould). None of the birds equal the songsters of Europe, although many have sweet notes, and some are musical, as the magpie (Gymnorhina organicum, Gould), that lively bird whose cheerful notes delight the ear of every traveller at early dawn in the settled districts of Tasmania, to which it is restricted.

The distribution of the birds of Tasmania is very partial, differing in this respect remarkably from that of the animals. The supply of the peculiar food suitable to particular genera and species necessarily affects their range, and as one half of the island is still covered by the dense primÆval forests, so in that portion few of the birds inhabiting the settled districts are to be found. Several of them follow the footsteps of man, and as his clearings take place in the remote wilds, and corn-fields spring into existence, so many grain-eating birds make their appearance. This is entirely irrespective of the regular annual migrations of numerous species from New Holland to Tasmania, which, in this respect, follow the same law which governs the migrations of species inhabiting similar latitudes in the other hemisphere. The snipe and swallows usually arrive in Van Diemen's Land during the first week in September; and during that month most of those birds which migrate for the purpose of breeding also make their appearance. In April, or soon after, the various summer visitants take their departure northwards. Mr. Gould observes:—"There are also periods when some species of birds appear entirely to forsake the part of the country in which they have been accustomed to dwell, and to betake themselves to some distant locality, where they remain for five or ten years, or even for a longer period, and whence they as suddenly disappear as they had arrived."

The only birds shot as game in the colony are quail and snipe. Quail shooting commences on 1st April, and snipe shooting about 1st September.

SECTION III—FISHES

Sir John Richardson has described many species of Tasmanian fish in the Transactions of the Zoological Society, and, more recently, some additional species in the Zoology of H. M. S. Erebus and Terror. To these works we must refer for scientific details, but many are still undescribed, and of the habits of our fish in general but little is known. Every season new species are brought to market at Hobart Town and Launceston, and no doubt many more species yet remain to reward the zealous fisherman who will explore the various banks off our coasts. The depth of water throughout the whole of Bass' Strait, and between the numerous islands which dot its eastern and western extremities, ranges between twenty and fifty fathoms only, the latter being the greatest depth. In such localities, and more especially amongst the islands, where numerous currents occur, fish may be expected to abound; but as yet no attempt has been made to extend the fishing beyond the shallow smooth water at the mouths of our rivers and estuaries.

Not only are many of the Tasmanian fish admirable as articles of food, but there is every reason to believe that they might be caught in sufficient numbers to form a valuable export to those countries where salt fish is esteemed. The best for this purpose would be that commonly known as the "king-fish" (a species of alepisaurus), about the size of a cod, the habitat of which is still unknown, but which comes regularly every season, during the months of May to July, into the shallow waters along the coasts, to spawn. It most probably permanently inhabits some of the banks in Bass' Strait.

The species considered finest for the table is one called the Trumpeter, found commonly in the estuary of the Derwent and Storm Bay, but which is rarely caught on the northern coast. Flounders, gar-fish, gurnett (Sebastes maculatus), and several other species of sea-fish, a bare list of which would convey little information, are frequently and usually brought to market.

The rivers of Tasmania are not so well supplied with fish as those of many other countries. The largest, except an eel, is one called the black-fish, which, in some of the rivers which discharge themselves into the sea on the north coast, attains a weight of six to eight pounds. This fish, it is said, does not exist in the river Derwent, or in any of its numerous tributaries. The mullet (or fresh water herring) is a fine, well-flavored fish, weighing usually about five ounces, and is the only one affording sport to the angler. These, with a species of trout, two lampreys, and, perhaps, two or three very small species not usually noticed, complete the list of those which inhabit our streams and lakes.

The colonists are now anxious to introduce the Salmon into the Tasmanian rivers, for which they seem admirably adapted. Hitherto the attempts have been made from Scotland, and failed; but it is supposed that the west coast of North America would afford a more favorable and accessible station from which to introduce the salmon of that country, which, although not so highly flavored as the Scotch species, would still be a most desirable acquisition.

Some species of fish are poisonous at all seasons, as the toad-fish (Apistes marmoratus); others are only occasionally so; and the degree of poisonous effect would seem to depend not only upon the state of the fish, but to vary very much in different persons who partake of them at the same time. There is nothing, however, in these properties of the Tasmanian fish to distinguish them from those of many other countries where similar peculiarities exist.

SECTION IV—REPTILES

It will not be necessary, in a work like the present, to do more than notice in very general terms this and the subsequent departments of zoology, upon none of which have any separate works been published.

Snakes exist all over Tasmania; all are believed to be poisonous, and some are well known to be so. They inhabit all localities, from the level of the sea to the summits of the loftiest mountains (about five thousand feet). The number of species is still undetermined, but there are believed to be at least ten, although it is probable that the young of some kinds may have been mistaken for distinct species. The largest are usually four to five feet long, attaining occasionally, though but very rarely indeed, to a length of six feet. The greater number, however, are very much smaller, and are very various in color. Comparatively few instances have occurred wherein the bite of the snake has proved fatal to human life, and this, considering the immense number of snakes throughout the island, may be deemed remarkable. Numerous instances, however, of the death of horses, cattle, sheep, and dogs, have been recorded; but the particular species causing death in each instance has not been noted with precision; so that there are considerable doubts with many well-informed persons whether some innocuous kinds may not, like the ringed snake of England, be classed amongst their poisonous congeners, and indiscriminately killed with them.

Next to man the hawk tribe are their most powerful and persevering enemies; and it would be wise on the part of the colonists if they forbade their servants to destroy those beautiful and, in this respect, most useful birds. Lady Franklin, during the government of her husband, Sir John Franklin, with her wonted liberality and kindness of heart, offered a reward of one shilling per head for every snake killed throughout the island. During the first year she paid about £700, for nearly fourteen thousand snakes killed. Subsequently she discontinued this reward, having ascertained that it would not, at that time, prove permanently beneficial, as from the very great extent of waste and unoccupied land, where snakes could breed undisturbed, they were brought down in vast numbers to the inhabited parts of the island by the flooded streams and rivers; but it now becomes a question, when so much more of the island is occupied, whether our local legislature might not wisely renew the offer of a moderate reward for the destruction of these obnoxious and much dreaded reptiles.

Lizards and frogs, of various species, are common, but possess no peculiar interest. A species of turtle has been occasionally washed ashore upon the east coast, brought, no doubt, from the east coast of New Holland by the current which sets from that direction towards Van Diemen's Land.

SECTION V—INSECTS

No work on the entomology of Tasmania has yet appeared, although few countries offer a wider or better field to the zealous entomologist, and it possesses many most interesting species.[273]

There is a great preponderance of Coleoptera over the other orders. Some European forms are common; and several species, as the weevil, apple aphis, slug, &c., have been introduced, and prove most injurious, as they increase with unusual rapidity. The domestic bee was brought to Van Diemen's Land from England by Dr. T. B. Wilson, R.N., in the year 1834; and so admirably does the climate of this island suit this interesting insect that in the first year sixteen swarms were produced from the imported hive! Since that time they have been distributed all over the island, and have been sent to all the adjoining colonies; all those in Australia having been derived from the one hive. In Tasmania they are becoming wild in great numbers, spreading themselves rapidly through all the forests, even to the summits of the western mountains.

SECTION VI—MOLLUSCA

Of the mollusca inhabiting the shores of the island many are highly interesting, and several are very beautiful. The rare CyprÆa umbilicata (Sowerby) inhabits Bass' Strait, as also Trigonia margaritacea (Lam.), Valuta papillaris (Swainson), Venus lamellata (Lam.), Crassatella kingicola (Lam.), solenimya Australis (Lam.), a species of Terebratula, and many others most interesting to the conchologist, and not less so to the geologist, as some forms are now found living abundantly in the Australian seas which are only known in the old world as occurring in a fossil state.

Our Argonaut, or paper nautilus (A. tuberculosa, Lam.), is quite distinct from the European species, and scarcely less beautiful. It is occasionally washed ashore in considerable numbers on the islands in Bass' Strait. The beautiful Janthina fragilis has been washed ashore with its inhabitant on the east coast.

Although many forms are almost purely Australian, there are, nevertheless, a great number of European types, such as species of Mytilus, Venus, Pecten, Ostrea, Patella, &c.

The only kind of shell-fish commonly consumed as an article of food and brought to market is a species of oyster. With the aborigines, however, shell-fish formed a very considerable and important article of diet. La Billardiere[274] describes their diving for Haliotis at Recherche Bay; and abundant remains of their feasts still exist all along the coasts, and, in some places, many miles inland, the shell-fish having been carried in baskets by the women, to situations where fresh water was to be found. The sites of these aboriginal feasts are usually easily to be distinguished from raised beaches, or those accumulations of shells caused by change in the relative levels of sea and land. They may be known by their isolated character and position; by their forming, in many instances, round mound-like heaps, or tumuli; by the shells being injured by fire, often broken into small pieces, intermixed with fragments of charcoal; and from the fact of no small species of shell, not likely to form an article of food, being found intermixed.[275] The species of shell-fish consumed by the aborigines were numerous, and varied according to the locality in which each shell abounded. Those commonly used were the two species of Haliotis, Mussels, a Turbo, and Oyster: several of the smaller bivalves and univalves were, however, occasionally used, but it does not appear that the aborigines of Tasmania ever eat the Unio, so far as can now be traced; in this instance exhibiting a remarkable difference from those of New Holland, with whom the Unio forms an important article of diet.

The land shells are inconsiderable in number, not amounting to more than about six species. The freshwater kinds, including those inhabiting ditches, ponds, &c., are more numerous; but, except the unio, all are small and insignificant. Some species occur abundantly in situations which are perfectly dry for at least six months of the year, and seem, like many snails, to have the power of sustaining life for a long period in a dormant state.

SECTION VII—CRUSTACEA, ECHINODERMATA, &c

Crabs of numerous species are common, and one species, occasionally caught on both the east and west coasts, attains to a gigantic size. A craw-fish is abundant on the coasts, and is much prized by epicures, and another inhabits the rivers which run into the sea on the north coast. Many other crustaceans, still undescribed or but little known, are to be found in all favorable situations.

There is little in the character of the echinodermata to call for special notice. Species of many genera of star-fish and sea urchins are most abundant. AcalephÆ and polypi are equally numerous, and a most extensive and little-explored field lies open in this colony to the naturalist in these most interesting branches of zoology. Our infusoria, too, are still undescribed, though numerous; but they call for few remarks in this place.

In closing this chapter upon the zoology of Tasmania it must not be forgotten by the reader that its productions are still, in a great many cases, comparatively unknown; the notices of those described are scattered throughout an immense number of works, and in this island no museum or public scientific library yet exists, of such a character as to afford any aid to the compiler. It is not, however, to be expected that a general history of Tasmania should contain a minute history of all its varied and most interesting natural productions. It has been deemed sufficient, in the present slight sketch, to give in general terms merely those leading features which were likely to prove attractive to the general reader; leaving it to the student who may desire further information to refer to the works which have been noticed under the different heads.

[268] History of British Fossil Mammals and Birds.