Chapter 11

The above-named classes of animals are distinguished from those previously dealt with, by the presence of a vertebral column. The vertebral axis may be either cartilaginous as in some fishes, or bony as in the greater number of animals belonging to this sub-kingdom.

Chordata.—

LINKS BETWEEN THE INVERTEBRATES AND FISHES.—The curious little ascidians or “sea-squirts,” belonging to the group Tunicata, are held by some authorities to be the degenerate descendants of a free-swimming animal having a complete notochord and nerve-tube, structures which are now only seen in the tails of their tadpole-like larvae. The fully developed tunicate is generally sessile and provided with a thick outer coat (tunic) and muscular inner lining. This outer coat in some forms, asLeptoclinum, is strengthened with tiny calcareous spicules, and these are sometimes found in the fossilstate in Cainozoic clays, as well as in some of the calcareous deep-sea oozes. The little stellate spicules ofLeptoclinumare abundant in the Balcombian clays of Mornington, Victoria.

Another primitive form with a notochord is the Lancelet, but this, having no hard parts, is not found in the fossil state.

Primitive Types of Fishes.—

FISHES.—The remains of fishes are naturally more abundant in the fossil condition, owing to their aquatic habits, than those of other vertebrates. The earliest fishes were probably entirely cartilaginous, and some have left only a mere trace or impression on the rocks in which they were embedded. These primitive fishes have no lower jaw, and are without paired limbs. They are sometimes placed in a class by themselves (AGNATHA). The orders of this primitive fish series as represented in Australasia are the Osteostraci (“bony shells”), of which the remains of theCephalaspis-like head-shield ofThyesteshas been found in the Silurian of N.E. Gippsland, Victoria (Fig. 122); and the Antiarchi, with its many-plated cuirass, armoured body-appendages, internal bony tissue, and coarsely tuberculated exterior, as seen inAsterolepis australis, a fossil occasionally found in the Middle Devonian Limestone of Buchan, Gippsland.

True Fishes.—Devonian.—

Of the true fishes (Pisces), the Elasmobranchii (“slit-gills”), a sub-class to which the modern sharks belong, are represented in the Devonian series by the paired spines of a form resemblingClimatius, foundboth in Victoria and New South Wales. Remains of Dipnoi (“double-breather” or lung-fishes) occur in the Devonian of Barker Gorge, Western Australia, represented by a new species allied toCoccosteus(“berry-bone” fish); and in a bed of the same age at the Murrumbidgee River, New South Wales by the cranial buckler ofGanorhynchus süssmilchi.

Fig. 122—Incomplete Head-Shieldof Thyestes magnificus, Chapm.From the Silurian (Yeringian) of Wombat Creek, N.E. Gippsland.4/5nat. size

Fig. 124—TEETH and SCALES of PALAEOZOIC and MESOZOIC FISHES.A—Strepsodus decipiens, A. S. Woodw. L. Carboniferous. VictoriaB—Elonichthys sweeti, A. S. Woodw. L. Carboniferous. VictoriaC—Corax australis, Chapm. L. Cretaceous. QueenslandD—Belouostomus sweeti, Eth. fil. and Woodw. L. Cretaceous. Q.

A—Strepsodus decipiens, A. S. Woodw. L. Carboniferous. VictoriaB—Elonichthys sweeti, A. S. Woodw. L. Carboniferous. VictoriaC—Corax australis, Chapm. L. Cretaceous. QueenslandD—Belouostomus sweeti, Eth. fil. and Woodw. L. Cretaceous. Q.

Carboniferous Fishes.—

The Lower Carboniferous sandstone of Burnt Creek and other localities near Mansfield, Victoria, contains an abundant fish fauna, associated with stems ofLepidodendron. The slabs of sandstone are often ripple-marked and show signs of tracks and castings of shore-living animals. These deposits were probably laid down in shallow water at the shore margin or in salt lagoons or brackish areas skirting the coast, into which at intervals the remains of the giant lycopods were drifted. The more important of these fish remains are Elasmobranchs, asGyracanthides murrayi(Fig. 123) andAcanthodes australis; the Dipnoan,Ctenodus breviceps; a Rhizodont or fringe-finned ganoid,Strepsodus decipiens(Fig. 124 A); and a genus related toPalaeoniscus,Elonichthys(E. sweeti, Fig. 124 B, andE. gibbus). The defence spines ofGyracanthidesare fairly abundant in the sandstones; whilst on some slabs the large enamelled scales ofStrepsodusare equally conspicuous.

From the sandstones of the same age, Lower Carboniferous, in the Grampians of Western Victoria, some small but well-preserved spines belonging to the genusPhysonemushave been found associated with a new variety of the well-known European Carboniferous brachiopod,Lingula squamiformis(var.borungensis).

Carbopermian Fishes.—

In the Carbopermian (Gympie Beds) of the Rockhampton District, Queensland, a tooth of a Cochliodont (“snail tooth”) occurs, which has been doubtfully referred to the genusDeltodus(?D. australis). The Cochliodontidae show dentition remarkably like that of theCestracionor Port Jackson Shark. Another tooth having the same family relationshiphas been referred toTomodus ? convexus, Agassiz; this is from the Carbopermian of the Port Stephen district of New South Wales. From the Newcastle Coal Measures in New South Wales aPalaeoniscus-like fish,Urosthenes australishas been described.

Carbopermian fish remains are rare in Western Australia. They comprise a wrinkled tooth ofEdestus(E. davisii) from the Gascoyne River, belonging to a fish closely related to the Port Jackson shark; and a cochliodont,Poecilodus(P. jonesi, Ag.) from the Kimberley district.

Triassic Fishes.—

Fossil fishes are important and numerous in Australian Triassic beds, especially in New South Wales. At the base of the Hawkesbury or close of the Narrabeen series, the railway ballast quarry near Gosford has yielded an extensive and extremely interesting collection. Near the floor of the quarry there is a band of sandy shale and laminated sandstone 5 feet 9 inches in thickness, and this contains the following genera:—A dipnoan,Gosfordia; and the following ganoids or enamelled scale fishes—Myriolepis,Apateolepis,Dictyopyge,Belonorhynchus,Semionotus,Pristisomus(seeantea, Fig. 18),Cleithrolepis(Fig. 125),Pholidophorusand ?Peltopleurus.

Upper Triassic Fishes.—

In the middle of the Wianamatta or Upper Trias Series at St. Peter’s, near Sydney, which contains a fauna described as slightly older in aspect than that of Gosford, having Carbopermian affinities,there occur in the hard shale or clay stone the generaPleuracanthus(a Palaeozoic shark);Sagenodus(a dipnoan related toCtenodusof the Victorian Carboniferous); and the following ganoids,—Palaeoniscus,Elonichthys,Myriolepis,Elpisopholis,PlatysomusandAcentrophorus. From the soft shales were obtainedPalaeoniscus,Semionotus,CleithrolepisandPholidophorus; an assemblage of genera somewhat comparable with the Gosford fauna.

Fig. 125—Cleithrolepis granulatus, Egerton.Triassic (Hawkesbury Series). Gosford, New South Wales.3/4nat. size.(After Smith Woodward.)

(After Smith Woodward.)

Lower Mesozoic Fishes.—

From the Lower Mesozoic sandstone (?Triassic) of Tasmania, two species ofAcrolepishave been described, viz.,A. hamiltoniandA. tasmanicus. The former occurs in the thick bed of sandstone, of nearly1,000 feet, at Knocklofty; the latter species in the sandstone withVertebrariaconformably overlying the Carbopermian at Tinderbox Bay.

Fig. 126—REMAINS of JURASSIC and OTHER VERTEBRATES.1—Ceratodus avus, A. S. Woodw. Left splenial with lower tooth. Cape Paterson, Victoria. About1/3nat. size2—Ceratodus forsteri, Krefft. Left lower tooth. Living. Queensland. About1/3nat. size3—Phalangeal of Carnivorous Dinosaur. Cape Paterson. About1/3nat. size4—Phalangeal of Megalosaurian. Wealden, Sussex, England.1/4nat. size

1—Ceratodus avus, A. S. Woodw. Left splenial with lower tooth. Cape Paterson, Victoria. About1/3nat. size2—Ceratodus forsteri, Krefft. Left lower tooth. Living. Queensland. About1/3nat. size3—Phalangeal of Carnivorous Dinosaur. Cape Paterson. About1/3nat. size4—Phalangeal of Megalosaurian. Wealden, Sussex, England.1/4nat. size

Jurassic Fishes.—

The Jurassic beds of Victoria contain three genera.Psilichthys selwyni, a doubtful palaeoniscid was described from Carapook, Co. Dundas; whilstLeptolepis,a genus found in the Trias of New South Wales and the Lias and Oolite of Europe, is represented byL. crassicaudafrom Casterton, associated with the typical Jurassic fern,Taeniopteris. In the Jurassic beds of South Gippsland, at Cape Paterson, an interesting splenial tooth of the mudfish,Ceratodus, was found, namedC. avus(Fig. 126). Since then, in a bore-core from Kirrak near the same place a fish scale was discovered (Fig. 127) which, by its shape, size and structure seems to differ in no way from the living lung-fish of Queensland (Fig. 128). It is reasonable to infer that tooth and scale belong to the same species; and in view of the close relationship of the tooth with that of the living mudfish, rather than with that of theCeratodusfound fossil in the Mesozoic of Europe, it may be referred toNeoceratodus, in which genus the living species is now placed.

Fig. 127—Scale of Ceratodus (Neoceratodus)(?)avus, A. S. Woodw.Jurassic. Kirrak, S. Gippsland, Victoria. About nat. size

Fig. 128—The Queensland Lung-Fishor Barramunda (Neoceratodus forsteri). About1/12th. nat. size(After Lydekker, in Warne’s Natural History)

(After Lydekker, in Warne’s Natural History)

Fig. 129—Leptolepis gregarius, A. S. Woodw.Talbragar Series, Jurassic. Talbragar River, New South Wales1/2nat. size

From the Jurassic beds (Talbragar Series) of New South Wales, an interesting collection of ganoid fishes has been described, comprisingCoccolepis australis,Aphnelepis australis,Aetheolepis mirabilis,Archaeomaene tenuis,A. robustus,Leptolepis talbragarensis,L. loweiandL. gregarina(Fig. 129).

Lower Cretaceous Fishes.—

Fish remains are fairly abundant in the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland. They comprise both the sharks and the ganoids. Of the sharks, a specimen, showing seven conjoined vertebrae has been namedLamna daviesii, from the Richmond Downs, Flinders River district; and a tooth referred toLamna appendiculatus, Agassiz, from Kamileroy, Leichhardt River, N.W. Queensland. The typical Cretaceous genusCoraxis represented by a small tooth namedC. australis(Fig. 124 C), from the Hamilton River, Queensland, and which closely approaches the tooth ofCorax affinis, Agassiz, from the Upper Cretaceous of Europe. Of the ganoid fishes two genera, both members of the familyAspidorhynchidae, have been found in Queensland.Aspidorhynchussp. andBelonostomus sweeti(Fig. 124 D) have both occurred at Hughenden, Flinders River district. The former genus has a slender body and produced rostrum; in Europe it is more characteristic of Jurassic strata.Belonostomusranges from the Upper Oolite, Bavaria,to the Upper Cretaceous in other parts of the world. Remains of a species ofPortheus, one of the predaceous fishes which lived in the Cretaceous period, consisting of a portion of the cranium with the anterior part of the jaws, has been obtained from the Rolling Downs Formation (Lower Cretaceous) near Hughenden, Queensland.

Cretaceous Fishes, New Zealand.—

Fig. 130—CRETACEOUS and CAINOZOIC FISH-TEETH.A—Notidanus marginalis, Davis. Cainozoic. New ZealandB—Callorhynchus hectori, Newton. Cainozoic. New ZealandC—Oxyrhina hastalis, Ag. Cainozoic. VictoriaD—Lamna apiculata, Ag. Cainozoic. VictoriaE—Carcharodon auriculatus, Blainv. sp. Cainozoic. VictoriaF—Sargus laticonus, Davis. Cainozoic. New Zealand

A—Notidanus marginalis, Davis. Cainozoic. New ZealandB—Callorhynchus hectori, Newton. Cainozoic. New ZealandC—Oxyrhina hastalis, Ag. Cainozoic. VictoriaD—Lamna apiculata, Ag. Cainozoic. VictoriaE—Carcharodon auriculatus, Blainv. sp. Cainozoic. VictoriaF—Sargus laticonus, Davis. Cainozoic. New Zealand

The Cretaceous beds of New Zealand are grouped in ascending order as the Waipara Greensands, the Amuri Limestone and the Weka Pass Stone. In the Waipara beds occur the teeth ofNotidanus marginalis(Fig. 130 A), andN. dentatus. In the Amuri LimestoneN. dentatusis again found, as well as the genusLamna, represented byL. compressa, Ag. (originally described asL. marginalis, Davis),L. carinataandL. hectori. Two forms of “Elephant fish” are represented by their dental plates, namelyCallorhynchus hectori(Fig. 130 B) andIschyodus thurmanni, Pictet and Campiche (recorded asI. brevirostris, Ag.).

Cainozoic Fishes.—

Fish remains principally consisting of teeth, are common fossils in the Cainozoic beds of southern Australia, particularly in Victoria, and also in New Zealand.

Balcombian Series, Southern Australia.—

The Balcombian beds as seen at Mornington and in the Lower Beds at Muddy Creek, Hamilton, contain the teeth of sharks asOdontaspis contortidens,Lamna crassidens,L. apiculata,Oxyrhina hastalis(rarely),O. minuta,Carcharodon megalodon, andC. robustus.

Janjukian.—

The Janjukian Series (Miocene), represented at Torquay, Waurn Ponds and Table Cape, contains an abundant fish fauna, including amongst sharks,Cestracion cainozoicus,Asteracanthus eocaenicus,Galeocerdo davisi,Carcharoides totuserratus,Odontaspis contortidens,O. incurva,O. cuspidata,Lamna crassidens,L. apiculata(Fig. 130 D),L. compressa,L. bronni,Oxyrhina hastalis(occasional) (Fig. 130 C),O. desori,O. retroflexa,O. minuta,Carcharodon auriculatus(Fig. 130 E),C. megalodonandC. robustus. A species of chimaeroid or Elephant fishis represented by a left mandibular tooth namedIschyodus mortoni, from the Table Cape Beds, Tasmania.

The Corio Bay series contains teeth ofAcanthias geelongensis,Sphyrna prisca,Odontaspis contortidens,O. attenuata,Oxyrhina minuta,Carcharodon megalodon, amongst sharks; whilst the spine of a Porcupine Fish,Diodon connewarrensishas been obtained from the clays of Lake Connewarre, Victoria.

Kalimnan.—

Fig. 131—CAINOZOIC FISH REMAINS.A—Carcharoides tenuidens, Chapm. Cainozoic (Janj.) VictoriaB—Odontaspis contortidens. Agassiz. Cainozoic (Kal.) VictoriaC—Galeocerdo latidens, Agassiz. Cainozoic (Kal.) VictoriaD—Myliobatis morrabbinensis, Chapm. and Pritch. Cainozoic (Kal.) VictoriaE—Labrodon confertidens. Chapm. and Pritch. Cainozoic (Kal.) Vict.F—Diodon formosus, Chapm. and Pritch. Cainozoic (Kal.) Vict.

A—Carcharoides tenuidens, Chapm. Cainozoic (Janj.) VictoriaB—Odontaspis contortidens. Agassiz. Cainozoic (Kal.) VictoriaC—Galeocerdo latidens, Agassiz. Cainozoic (Kal.) VictoriaD—Myliobatis morrabbinensis, Chapm. and Pritch. Cainozoic (Kal.) VictoriaE—Labrodon confertidens. Chapm. and Pritch. Cainozoic (Kal.) Vict.F—Diodon formosus, Chapm. and Pritch. Cainozoic (Kal.) Vict.

The Kalimnan Series is also prolific in the remains of fishes, the principal localities being Beaumaris and Grange Burn, Hamilton. Amongst the sharks there found are,Notidanus jenningsi(relatedto the Indian Grey Shark),Cestracion cainozoicus(related to the Port Jackson Shark),Asteracanthus eocaenicus,Galeocerdo davisi,G. latidens(Fig. 131 C),G. aduncus,Odontaspis contortidens(Fig. 131 B),O. incurva,O. cuspidata,O. attenuata,Lamna apiculata,L. compressa,Oxyrhina hastalis(abundant),O. desori,O. retroflexa,O. eocaena,O. minuta,Carcharodon auriculatusandC. megalodon. An extinct species of Sting Ray,Myliobatis moorabbinensis(Fig. 131 D), is found at Beaumaris, represented by occasional palatal teeth. Mandibular and palatine teeth of an extinct genus of Elephant Fish,Edaphodon(E. sweeti) are occasionally found at Beaumaris, and at Grange Burn near Hamilton. Two extinct forms of the Wrasse family, the Labridae, are found in Victoria; the pharyngeals ofLabrodon confertidens(Fig. 131 E), occurring at Grange Burn, Hamilton, and those ofL. depressus, at Beaumaris. The palatal jaws of a Porcupine Fish,Diodon formosus(Fig. 131 F), are frequently met with at the base of the Kalimnan Series, both at Grange Burn and Beaumaris.

Oamaru Series, New Zealand.—

In New Zealand the Oamaru Series, which is comparable in age with the Victorian Janjukian, contains numerous fish remains, chiefly teeth of sharks. These are:Notidanus primigenius,N. marginalis(also occurring in the Waipara Series),Galeocerdo davisi,Odontaspis incurva,O. cuspidata,O. attenuata,Lamna apiculata,L. compressa,Oxyrhina retroflexa,Carcharodon auriculatus,C. megalodonandC. robustus. The teeth of a Sting Ray,Myliobatis plicatilisand of a species of Sea-bream,Sargus laticonus, also occur in this series (Fig. 130 F).

Pleistocene.—

A species of fish belonging to the family of the Perches,Ctenolates avus, has been described from freshwater carbonaceous shale of Pleistocene age from Nimbin on the Richmond River, New South Wales.

Amphibians: Their Structure.—

AMPHIBIANS.—This group includes amongst living forms the Frogs, Toads, Newts, and Salamanders. The remains of amphibia are rare in Australasian rocks, and practically limited to the group of the Triassic Labyrinthodonts. The Amphibia are distinguished from Reptiles by certain changes which their young undergo after leaving the egg. In this intermediate stage they breathe by external gills, these being sometimes retained together with the internal lungs in the adult stage. In the older forms of this group the vertebra is of the nature of a notochord, the joints consisting of a thin bony ring with a gelatinous interior. The Labyrinthodontia have a long, lizard-like body, short pectoral limbs as compared with the pelvic, and five-toed feet. The skull is completely roofed over. The teeth are pointed, with a large pulp cavity and wall of infolded or plicated dentine (hence the name labyrinthodont—maze-tooth). The vertebrae are hollow on both sides, sometimes imperfectly ossified, and with a notochordal canal. Ventral aspect with bony thoracic plates. Cranial bones deeply sculptured, and carrying mucus canals.

Carbopermian Labyrinthodonts.—

The genusBothriceps, probably an Archegosaurian, is represented by two species,B. australisandB. majorfrom New South Wales (Fig. 132). The latter species occurs in the Oil Shale (Carbopermian) of Airly.

Fig. 132—Bothriceps major,A. S. Woodward.Carbopermian. New South Wales.About1/11th. nat. size(After A. S. Woodward).

(After A. S. Woodward).

Triassic Labyrinthodonts.—

From the Hawkesbury Series near Gosford, New South Wales, the labyrinthodont,Platyceps wilkinsonihas been described. The skeleton is nearly complete and exposed on the ventral face; the head is27mm. long and 32mm. broad. This specimen is associated with the remains of ganoid fishes, asPalaeoniscusandCleithrolepis, together with the equisetum-like plantPhyllotheca.

Other, somewhat doubtful remains having similar affinities to the labyrinthodonts are also recorded from the Wianamatta beds (Upper Trias) at Bowral, New South Wales, consisting of a maxilla with teeth and 11 vertebrae with ribs of the left side. Remains of a labyrinthodont,Biloela, supposed to be related toMastodonsaurus, have been recorded from the Hawkesbury Series of Cockatoo Island, Port Jackson, New South Wales, by W. J. Stephens, and consisting of a pectoral plate compared by that author withM. robustus(now transferred to the genusCapitosaurus).

The only other recorded remains of this group in Australasia are those noted by W. J. Stephens from the Kaihiku Series (Trias) at Nugget Point, Otago; and in the Otapiri Series (Upper Trias) of the Wairoa district, New Zealand.

Reptilia: Their Structure.—

REPTILIA.—The Reptiles are cold-blooded, vertebrated animals, with a scaly skin or armour. Their respiration is essentially by means of lungs, and they are terrestrial or aquatic in habit. The skeleton is completely ossified (bony). Reptiles, although resembling amphibians externally, are more differentiated in structure and of generally larger proportions. They exhibit great diversity of form, especially as regards their extremities. They were even adaptedfor flying, as in the Pterosaurs (“Flying Dragons”) with their membranous wing attached to the anterior limb. The Deinosaurs (“Terrible Reptiles”) were often of great size, exceeding the dimensions of any land mammals, and their limbs were adapted for walking. The marine reptiles, as the Ichthyosauria (“Fish-lizards”) and Sauropterygia (“lizard-finned”) had the limbs transformed into paddles. The neural spines in the vertebra of the Turtles are laterally expanded into a carapace and united with dermal plates. The vertebrae of Reptilia show great variation of form, being biplanate (amphiplatyan), biconcave (amphicoelus), hollow in front (procoelus), or hollow at the back (opisthocoelus). In the case of Reptiles having both pairs of limbs developed, the cervical, dorsal, sacral and caudal regions may be separately distinguished. Amongst the Ophidia (Snakes), Pythonomorpha (“Sea-lizards”) and Ichthyosaurs (“Fish-lizards”) there is no differentiated sacral region. The skull of the Reptiles is nearer that of Birds than Amphibians. The basiocciput (basal bone of the skull at the back) articulates with the atlas (top joint of the backbone) by means of a single condyle (protuberance). All reptiles, with the exception of the Chelonians (Turtles), and a few others, are furnished with teeth: these are formed chiefly of dentine with a layer of enamel.

Dentition.—

Some teeth have solid crowns (pleodont); some grow from persistent pulps (coelodont); socketed teeth (thecodont) are inserted in alveoli; some are fused with the supporting bone along the outer rim or top(acrodont); whilst others are developed laterally along the flange-like inner rim of the jaw (pleurodont).

Permian and Triassic Reptiles.—

The history of Reptilia commences in Permian and Triassic times, when they were notably represented by the Theromorphs,PareiasaurusandTritylodonin South Africa; the Proterosauria of the European and American Permian and Trias, represented by the lizard-likePalaeohatteriaand the dorsally frilledDimetrodon, with its formidable array of neural spines; also the Rhynchosauria, with their beak-like jaws of the same formations. These two groups constitute the order Rhynchocephalia, which is represented at the present day by the Tuatera of New Zealand.

Triassic Reptile, New Zealand.—

The earliest Australian reptilian record is that of a vertebra ofIchthyosaurusfrom the Kaihiku Series of Mount Potts, New Zealand (Triassic). This specimen was namedI. australisby Hector, but since that species name was preoccupied by McCoy in 1867 it is suggested here that the New Zealand species should be distinguished asI. hectori. The New Zealand occurrence ofIchthyosaurusmakes the geological history of the genus very ancient in this part of the world.

Jurassic Reptiles.—

At Cape Paterson, Victoria, in the Jurassic coal-bearing sandstone an extremely interesting discovery was made a few years ago, of the ungual bone (claw)of a carnivorous Deinosaur, probably related toMegalosaurusof the European Jurassic and Cretaceous beds (See Fig. 126, 3, 3 A). The presence of an animal like this in Australia points to the former existence of a concomitant terrestrial animal fauna, upon which the deinosaur must have preyed.

Fig. 133—Ichthyosaurus australis, McCoy.A—Part of head, showing eye protected by sclerotic platesB—Left pectoral paddle. L. Cretaceous. Flinders River, Queensland.1/8nat. size(Nat. Mus. Coll.)

(Nat. Mus. Coll.)

Lower Cretaceous Reptiles.—

The Rolling Downs formation (Lower Cretaceous) of the Thompson and Flinders Rivers in Queensland has yielded remains of a Tortoise,Notochelone costata(seeantea, Fig. 17); and the interesting Fish-lizardIchthyosaurus. Numerous and well preserved remains ofI. australisMcCoy come from the Flinders River (Fig. 133); whilstI. marathonensisis recorded from Marathon Station, Queensland. The former species is typically represented by a nearly complete skeleton, and was considered by McCoy tobe one of the largest examples of the genus, since a perfect specimen would probably reach the length of 25 feet. Its teeth resemble those ofI. campylodon, Carter, from the English Chalk. Of the Sauropterygia two species ofPliosaurus(P. macrospondylusandP. sutherlandi) have been described from the Lower Cretaceous of the Flinders River; whilst the latter species has also occurred at Pitchery Creek, Central Queensland and at Marathon.P. macrospondylusis distinguished fromP. sutherlandiby the roughened edges of the vertebral centra. Another genus of the “lizard-finned” reptiles (Sauropterygia), viz.,Cimoliosaurus, occurs in the Upper Cretaceous of White Cliffs, New South Wales (Fig. 134 B, C.)

Fig. 134—FOSSIL REPTILES.A—Taniwhasaurus oweni. Hector. (Lower jaw). Cretaceous. New ZealandB—Cimoliosaurus leucoscopelus, Eth. fil. (Teeth). Up. Cretaceous. New South WalesC—Cimoliosaurus leucoscopelus, Eth. fil. (Phalangeal). Up. Cretaceous. New South WalesD—Miolania oweni, A. S. Woodw. Pleistocene. Queensland

A—Taniwhasaurus oweni. Hector. (Lower jaw). Cretaceous. New ZealandB—Cimoliosaurus leucoscopelus, Eth. fil. (Teeth). Up. Cretaceous. New South WalesC—Cimoliosaurus leucoscopelus, Eth. fil. (Phalangeal). Up. Cretaceous. New South WalesD—Miolania oweni, A. S. Woodw. Pleistocene. Queensland

Cretaceous Reptiles, New Zealand.—

The Waipara Series (Cretaceous) of New Zealand contains a fairly large number of reptilian species belonging to several genera among which may be mentionedPlesiosaurus,Polycotylus, andCimoliosaurusamong the Sauropterygia; andTylosaurusandTaniwhasaurus(Fig. 134 A), marine lizard-like reptiles, belonging to the sub-order Pythonomopha.

Cainozoic and Pleistocene Reptiles.—

The later Cainozoic deposits of Queensland contain remains of Crocodiles referred toPallymnarchus pollens(from Maryvale Creek) andCrocodilus porosus(from Chinchilla and Arcola, near Brisbane, Queensland). The former species has also occurred at Clunes, whilstCrocodilus porosusis recorded from the Loddon Valley, both in Victoria. Another late Tertiary reptile is the remarkable Horned Turtle,Miolania oweni, which is found in Queensland in Pleistocene deposits (Fig. 134 D), and in the Pliocene (Deep Leads) of Gulgong, New South Wales; whilst a second species of the same genus,M. platyceps, is found in coral sand at Lord Howe Island, 400 miles distant from Australia. This genus has a skull with large bony protuberances, giving it a horned appearance, and the tail is encased in a bony sheath. A species ofMiolaniais also described from Patagonia. The Cave deposits of Wellington Valley, New South Wales, as well as the fluviatile depositsof Queensland, have, yielded the bones of several genera of lizards, including the Giant Lizard (Megalania), which, in its length of 20 feet exceeded that of most living crocodiles.

Birds.—

BIRDS (AVES).—These warm-blooded animals are closely related to Reptiles in many essential particulars; and are generally considered to more nearly approach the Deinosaurs than any other group. The Ratitae (“Raft-breasted” or keel-less birds) and Carinatae (with keeled breast-bones), a sub-class including most modern birds, were probably differentiated before the Cainozoic period.

Jurassic Bird.—

The oldest recorded bird, the remarkableArchaeopteryx, of the Upper Jurassic of Bavaria in Europe, belonging to the Saururae (Reptilian-tailed) is, so far, restricted to the beds of that age.

Miocene Bird, New Zealand.—

The earliest known birds in Australasia occur in the Miocene rocks (Oamaru Series), of New Zealand. In this series, in the Marawhenua Greensands, a Giant Penguin,Palaeeudyptes antarcticusis found at Kakanui near Oamaru, at Curiosity Shop near Christchurch and at Brighton near Nelson, New Zealand: this interesting occurrence shows that these restricted antarctic birds had already become an established type as early as the Miocene.

Victorian Cainozoic Bird.—

The impression of a bird’s feather, probably of a Wader, has lately been described from Western Victoria (seeanteaFig. 16 and Fig. 135). This occurs in ironstone, on the surface of which are also impressions of Gum (Eucalyptus) and Native Honeysuckle (Banksia) leaves, of species closely related to those now growing in the same locality. This ironstone is probably of Janjukian age, and may therefore be coincident with the New Zealand occurrence of thePalaeeudyptesin the Oamaru Series.

Pliocene Moa, New Zealand.—

In the Wanganui System (Pliocene) the Putiki Beds have yielded bones of a small Moa (Dinornis), probably the oldest example of the group of great flightless birds which later predominated in New Zealand.

Fig. 135—Impression of Bird’s Feather in Ironstone.Wannon River, Victoria. (Enlarged).

Pleistocene Struthious Birds, Australia.—

Bones of a struthious or Ostrich-like bird, described by Owen under the name ofDromornis australis, a bird as large as the Moa, have been recorded from the Pleistocene of Peak Downs and the Paroo River, Queensland. Indeterminate species of the same genera occur in Phillip Co., New South Wales, and the Mount Gambier Caves, South Australia; whilstDromaeus patriciusis known from King’s Creek, Darling Downs, Queensland.

Genyornis newtoniis an extinct bird allied to the Emeus; it has been found in Pleistocene deposits at Lake Callabonna, South Australia, and other fragmentary remains have been identified by Dr. Stirling and Mr. Zietz from Mount Gambier and Queensland. Regarding the build and habits ofGenyornis, those authors remark that “Its legs combine a huge femur nearly as massive, in all but length, as that ofDinornis maximus, and a tibia equalling that ofPachyornis elephantopuswith the relatively slender metatarse ofDinornis novae-zealandiae(ingens) and toes which are insignificant beside those of any of the larger moas.”... “In height it may be confidently stated to have been from 6 feet to 6 feet 6 inches, that is if the neck should have been of proportions similar to those ofPachyornis elephantopus.” Those authors also attribute a slow, sluggish habit to the bird, and suggest that herbage rather than roots formed its food. It is very probable that the footprints of birds found in the older dune rock of Warrnambool, Victoria, associated with the doubtful “human footprints” may have been made byGenyornisor a related form.

An extinct Emu,Dromaeus minor, has lately been described from the sub-recent deposits in King Island, Bass Strait.

Pleistocene Carinate Birds, Australia.—

Many genera of carinate birds belonging to living Australian types have been identified by De Vis from the fluviatile deposits on the Darling Downs, Queensland. These include Falcons (TaphaetusandNecrastur); a Pelican (Pelicanus); an Ibis (Palaeopelargus); a Spoonbill (Platalea); Ducks (Anas,Dendrocygna,BiziuraandNyroca); a Darter (Plotus); a Pigeon (Lithophaps); a Ground-pigeon (Progura); a Mound-builder (Chosornis); a Rail (Porphyrio); Moor-hens (Gallinula,TribonyxandFulica); and a Stork (Xenorhynchus).

Pleistocene and Holocene Birds, New Zealand.—

In New Zealand numerous remains of birds are found, chiefly in the Pleistocene strata, associated with Moa bones: such areCnemiornis, the Flightless Pigeon Goose (Fig. 135);Harpagornis, a predatory hawk-like bird larger than any existing eagle; andAptornis, an extinct Rail. The sand-dunes, peat bogs, swamps, river alluvium, caves and rock shelters of New Zealand often contain numerous remains of the gigantic Moa birds included in the generaDinornis,PachyornisandAnomalopteryx, of which perhaps the best known areD. giganteus,D. maximus(Fig. 136),D. robustus,P. elephantopus(Fig. 137), andA. antiqua. Some of the species have become so recently extinct that remains of their skin and feathers have been preserved in fissures inthe rocks where they were shielded from the influence of air and moisture. The remains of Moa birds are very abundant in some of the localities as at Hamilton in Southland, where, as Hutton estimated, the remains of at least 400 birds were contained within a radius of 25 feet.

Fig. 136—Cnemiornis calcitrans, Owen.Pleistocene. New Zealand.1/15th. nat. size(After Owen).

(After Owen).

Fig. 137—Dinornis maximus, Owen. (Great Moa).Pleistocene and Holocene. New Zealand.Vertical height, 8 ft. Measured along spine, 10 ft. 8 in.(Nat. Mus. Coll.)

(Nat. Mus. Coll.)

Fig. 138—Pachyornis elephantopus, Owen sp.Pleistocene. New Zealand. About1/26th. nat. size.(After Owen).

(After Owen).

Mammalia: Early Types.—

MAMMALIA.—The history of those warm-blooded animals, the mammals, commences in the early part of the Mesozoic period. It was then that the skull began to assume the characters seen in the modern quadrupeds,and their well-formed limb-bones, and fusion of the three bones on each side of the pelvic arch to form the innominate bone, also show relationship to the later types. The earliest ancestral mammalian forms seem to be related to the theromorphic reptiles, predominant in the Permian and Trias. The mammals first to make their appearance were probably related to those of the Monotreme and Marsupial orders. More nearly related to the former is the group of mammals of the Mesozoic period, the Multituberculata.

Multituberculata.—

This group comprises the TriassicTritylodon(South Africa and Germany); the Upper JurassicBolodon(England and United States); the Upper Jurassic to Lower CainozoicPlagiaulax(England, United States and France); and the Lower EocenePolymastodon(New Mexico). The molar teeth are ridged longitudinally, and carry numerous tubercles, hence the name of the group, and resemble the deciduous teeth of the Duck-billed Platypus (Ornithorhynchus).

Monotremata.—

The Monotremata are represented at the present day in Australia and New Guinea by theEchidnaor Spiny Anteater, and by theOrnithorhynchusor Duck-billed Platypus of Eastern Australia and Tasmania. These egg-laying mammals show relationship towards the reptiles both in structure and in methods of reproduction.

A Pliocene species ofOrnithorhynchus(O. maximus) has been recorded from the Deep-leads of Gulgong,New South Wales, and the same beds have yielded the remains ofEchidna (Proechidna) robusta. Remains of another species,Echidna, (P.) oweni, have been described from the Pleistocene Cave-breccias of the Wellington Valley Caves, New South Wales; andOrnithorhynchus agilisis found in deposits of similar age in Queensland.

Marsupials.—

The Marsupials or pouched mammals belong to the sub-class Metatheria. They are divided into Diprotodontia and Polyprotodontia, accordingly as they possess a single pair of incisor teeth in the lower jaw, or many front teeth, hence the names of the two sub-orders. A later classification of the Marsupials is that of their division into syndactyla and diadactyla.

The diadactyla have the second and third toes separate, and are represented by the family Dasyuridae or Native Cats. These are polyprotodont. They are the most archaic of the marsupial group. Remains ofDasyurus, both of extinct and still living species are found in Pleistocene Cave-breccias in Victoria and New South Wales. The Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus ursinus) (Fig. 138, 139) and the Tasmanian Wolf (Thylacinus cynocephalus), still living in Tasmania, have left numerous remains on the mainland, in Victoria and New South Wales. Of the latter genus an extinct species isT. majorfrom the Pleistocene of Queensland (Fig. 140).

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