c&fo AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM GAZINE EDITED BY C. ANDERSON. M.A.• D.Sc.
Australian Mammals: Why They Should be Protected - D r. W . K . Gregory Some Famous Diamonds and Their Story - The E dttor A Naturalist on the Great Bar- rier Reef - E.A.Br£ggs,B .S c. The Spider-eating Insects oE Australia G. H. H ardy Primitive Magic and Sorcery W m. W . Thorp~ Electric Rays • A. R. M cCullo ch
Vol. 1. No. 3. DECEMBER. 1921. PRICE ONE SHILLING.· . THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM College Street, Sydney.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES: President: T. S'l'Oam DasoN, li.B., Ch.,M., Knight of St. John.
Crown Trustee : JAJDS :MoKnv.
08icial Trustees : His HoNOU. TD emu JUBTIOB. Tu HoN. TD P'usmBNT Ol' THlll LmrsLATIVB Cou•OJL. Tn HoN. ~ CoLONUL SEOUT.ABY. T.m: HON. THB A'l'TOBNft-GEND.AL. To HoN. 'l'RB Oor.olfuL TUASUREB. THE HoN. THE SECBJ:TaY roa PUBLic WOBES AND MmlsDB rol\ RAILW-AY&. Tn HoN. TRB MmrsTD or PUBLic lNsTRUC'l"'OB'. Tm: AUDITOB-GBNUA.L. THE PusiDENT 01' TBB N.S. WALES MnrCAL B PaoF. W. A. HAsWELL, M.A., D.Sc. F .R.S. 1 EBNES'l' WUNDWOR. PROF. Sm T. W. E. DAvm, K..B.E., C.M.G., B.A., F .R.S. G. H. ABB<>'l'T, B.A., M.B., Ch.:M. w. H. HARGRA.VES. J. VERN6N. ERIC S INOLAIB, M.D. TBJD HoN. D. l&vY, LI;.B., M.L.A. CoL. THE HoN. Sm JAS. BUBNs, K.C.lrLG., lrLL.C. J. J. FLX'l!OBD, :M.A., B.Sc. J. R. M. RoBEB'l'SON, :M.D., CJL G.. MoR.u. Director: CHnr• Alm:oaox, K.A.., D.Se. (JlinM'CIZogilf). Principal Keeper of Collections : C1Jum.g HDm, (Ocmc1wilogi8f). ' Scientific Staff: ALLA.N R. MoC'D'Lr.ooH, Zoologist, m chMge of Fuhu. Wn.xJAv W • •THOBPE, El'hnologisf. REL w. BBE'l'NALL, Zoologist, m o"hm'ge of Lo1Der ltWerlebrates. ANTHoNY Musmu.n:, Entomologist. J. Rov Kmomnm, Zoologist, in ohMge of Birds, Bepeile., CltWi AmpiKbians. ELLIS LE G. TBOUGHTON, Zoologist, in o114rge of Mamt'IWIJr and Skelefom. F. A. MoNEILL, Zoologisl, m oAarge of Oru.sfaoea. T. Hooo• SKITH, .A11istt~~tt m Miuralogy. Librarian: Aeeountant: W. A. RAINBOW. J. A. TBIKBLI. Table of Contents. THE 'f"\ ' MA NIAN TIGER OR "'OLF ...... F rontispiece EDITORJ AT~ .• ti3 AUS 'l'RALIA ~ 1\IA:'VHLALS : 'VI-I\' TH~Y S HOULD B E P RO'l 'J<.:C'l'KI>- Dr. H '. K. Gregory .. G5 SoME F AMOUS D r.nrox Ds A ~D THEI R STOR\-The E ditor ...... /5 A NATU RALIST o ~ THE GREA'L' BARRI E I~ R eeP--E. A . Brigg.~, B. c...... ID THE SPIUER E ATrxc; r~sEC ' L'R OF Au T~\ Lu-G . JI. IIardy .. 8-! THE R.A.O.ll. C'o xFE REK C ~: A ~o :MusEU:\L \'. PRl\'..:l.'l'E COLLEC'l'IOXF-J. R. Kinghom ...... (i PRn OTrn; ~L\{ a c AXD OR<'I-: RY- ll'm. 11'. Th Qrpe 87 PECULUR A GENCIES OF AN IMAL DrSTRIBUTr ox- F . A . Jfc.Yeill ...... 88 E LECTRT H A Y s-.~. R. Jfd 'ulloch 89 NOTEs AND N r-: w...... 90 ffl j---! I:Q tt:J [/)~ H ~ > ~ I> ~ 1,;::<1 ~ cj [/) t;j Cl ?' ~"'-\ !;:>o...... I> The Tasmanian Tiger. or Wolf, a_s it is ;rariousl{' called, is the most pow.erful of the ~eSh-eating. marsupials. !t 0 is restricted to Tasmanta, though tts fosstl remams are founq on the mamland. . It pas a dog-hke form, and m I> its evolution it has closely parallelled the European wolf and other ca·rnivores, i·ts teeth in par:ticular bein~ similarly N,__ modifi:d for rending fle sh (see also figures of skulls in text). z · Copyright phqto frpm lik-H. Burrell. t:l Published by tlte ...tu stralian lllw eum - College ,o..,·t reel, ,·'ydney. Eclitor: C. ANDER ·ox, M.A., D.Sc. Annual Subscription. Pos-t F ree. 4 -!. \'OL. 1. No. 3. DECE:'IfBEH. 1921. EditoriaL THE ni..e\GazixE. tists from other State!' and countries_ Dr. J. V. Danes, Con. ul-General for The Australian Museum Magazine, of Czerhoslovakia. lectured on "The Phy which this is the third number, has met siognlphy of Czeehoslo,•a.kia.'' Dr. W. with a flattering· reception; the first K. Gregory, of the American ")Iuseum number was sold out in a few weeks, of Natural History, on "Australian and the second (of twice the number Mammals and why they are worth pro of copies) is at the moment of going· to tecting." and Captain A. R. \\bite, of press almost exhausted. This shows South Australia, on "The Economic that there is a considerable demand for Value of our Birds.'' It is hoped tht a pnblication of this kind, and is Yery this innoYation will bcc·ome a regular gratifying to the tru. tees. No effort .feature. will be spared to maintain, and, if pos sible, to raise the standard of the Mag·a WILLIA.J.[ STREE'l' FRONTAGE. .zine, which we hope will continue to ob Plans ha,-e been adopted for the im tain tbe public support which is essen proYement of the William Street fron tial to its continued success. tage, which has been an eyesore e\-er M usEU:\[ LEC'rUREs. sitH·e the City Council l'esumed part of t:JP Museum premises for the purpose of These lectures are increasing· in po widening tlle street, and the work will pularity, and are now a well established bt proceeded with Yery shortly. It is feature in the intellectual life of Syd proposed to erect a retaining wall along ney. From quite modest beginnings they \\illiam Street, to leYel the ground on have grown until the lecture theatre is the northern f1·ont, and to tenace the all too small for our needs. At the re ra~tern end, where also a roadway will gular lectm·es held this year the ac be eonstructed to giYe access to the commodation has been taxed to the ut back of the Museum premises. \\hen most, and mo1·e than once we ha\e bad the work is completed it will enhance regretfully to c·lose the doors and leave the appearance of the building, and many would-be hearers outside. Mr. also improve the lighting and •entila• A. R. McCulloch's lecture, "Lord Howe tion of the basement 1·ooms. hland; A South Sea Tragedy," was so ELECTRIC LIGllTJNG. popular that it had to be repeated. 'rbis year we have been able to add The north wing is Yery badly lighted,. sotne extra lectures to the ordinary particularly on the ground and first course, and to place the Lecture Hall floor , where on a dull day the exhibits at the disposal of distinguished scien- arc seen to •ery poor adYantage. It 64 THE AUSTR.ALL~~ )fUSEU:\1 l\IAGAZlNE. is now proposed to instal electJ:ic light thus been able to secure valuable ma ing in these rooms, and also in the Lec teri:ll for our collections. ture Hall, where its inh·ocluction will be M USF:Ul\[ GROUPS. a great boon. At the same time the lion group and the Antarctic tableau The Museum staff have been busily will be electrically lighted, with, it is engaged for some time past in prepar hoped, a great inercase in effectiveness. ing groups for exhibition. A flying fox group is nearing completion; a large COLLECTIXG. number of these bats will be shown Recognising that closer settlement is clinging in characteristic attitudes to the slow !~· but ~nrely depleting om native branches of a tree. fauna, and that our collections are still AnotlJer interesting exhibit will be a sadl~r deficient in material suitable for pool showing the celebrated lung- fish modern study, the trustees have wisely ( N eoceratodus) of Central Queensland; deeided that the :i\fnseum should take a a number of casts of this interesting fish more acti,·e interest in field collecting. ha,·e ah·eady been prepared by Mr. C. In furtherance of this policy )fessrs. E. Glutton, and these will be coloured from Le G. Troughton and J. H. Wright studies made on living specimens. haYe been sent to South and Western Early in January some members of An5-tralia to obtain specimens of some the staff will proceed to Lord Howe Is of the rarer An tralian mammals and land to obtain the materials and make birds, and Messrs. H.' S. Grant ana J. the necessary sketches for a coral reef H. \\l'ight wm subsequently proceed gt·onp, and a cliff scene with nesting to the Recherche Archipelago, south of boatswain birds and wide-a-wake terns. Esperance. W-estern Australia, with an l\fr. A. E. Phillips has generously pro expedition led by )fr. A. F. Basset Hull, mised a donation of £20 towards the who is collecting and observing on be expenses of this expedition, if four ha!f of Mr. H. L. White, of Belltrees, others will present a like amount; Sir l\cw South Wales. It is a pleasing J ames Burns, trustee, has, with charac dc.ty to express our appreciation of the teristic generosity, agreed to make one pul·hc-spirited action of Mr. Anthony of the four. Horci':!ro, who has kindly made avail able part of t be Hordern and Le Souef NEED OF FUNDS. Re~p;n·cb Fund to help in defraying the It is with peculiar pleasure that I exp•~nses of our officers while collecting ha\e refen-ed to the generosity of these in ('eutral Australia, and of Mr. White, \'arions donors, for, though we are in 'Who generou~ly im·ited the trustees to debted to many kind friends fo1· valu send two collec·tors to accompany the able donations of specimens, notably the Recherche Expedition. Hargra,-es collection of shells presented Nearer home some field work has also uy Mr. Thomas \Valker in 1877, never bt:>cn done within the last few months. beforP. l1a-ve we received any private lvll'. A. Musgra,·e spent some days at benefactions for collecting, which is . the Upper Chichester, near Dung·og, col very life of a mul:ieum. In America, lecting mammals and insects, and where they do the.c:;e thing-s much better, :Messrs. C. Heclley and J. R. Kinghorn the expenses of collecting expeditions joined the Royal Au::;tralasian Ornitholo are almost invariably i>orne by private gists' ""Cnion in their annual' "camp out" benefactors, and at the present time two at 1fallis Lake, near Tuncurry. American museums ha,·e experienced B.r the kind~1c s of :\lr. E. B. Hark <·olledors in Australia, who are doing ness, Under-Secretary Chief Secretary's remarkably good work. Tbe Australian Department, and )fr. A. P. Summer Museum is embarking on new enter gree:ne, manager of the State Trawling pril'es, of which this magazine is one, Indtistry, Messrs. F. l\fcNeill, A. Liv and increased activity in collecting is ingstone, and H. 0. Fletcher, ba,·e at another; for theSe purposes funds are diffJ:rent times accompanied one of the required, and we confidently look to State . h-awlers on its cruise, and have Australian citizens of means for help. 'l'llE AUSTRALIAN MU SEUM MAGAZJ~l!J. 65 Australian Mammals and why they should be protected. BY D R. w. K. GREGORY. [Dr. Gregory, who is Curator of Com of the American Museum. Acting on parati\'e Anatomy in the American instructions from President H. F. Os Museum of Natural History, and As born, Dr. Gregory lost no opportunity of 'Sociate Professor of P alaeontology in impressing upon Australians the neces Columbia University. New York, came to sity for protecting their unique and fast Australia this year, accompanied by Mr. disappearing mammalian fauna, and, H. C. Raven, in order to obtain by ex with this object in view, he delivered a change and field collecting a typical lecture at the Australian Museum, the series of Australian· mammals, to be dis substance of which is reproduced in this played in the projected Australian Hall article.] The preservation of animals may be Rut my main objert is to sbow why urged because of their beauty, their these animals are worthy of protection scientific interest, or their utility, and from a scientific point of view. and to there are few indeed which bave not do this it is necessary to discuss some some claim to protection on one or other of the outstanding characteristics of the of these counts. I shall not deal with Australian mammalian fauba. Austi·alian mammals as regards their l\Iammals, in genel'al, that is the four economic importance, although a plea footed animals which are co\·ered with might well be advanced for their pro hair and suckle their yotwg, are divided tection on that ground. An enormous into three groups, the Monotremes. the number of marsupial skins are marketed Marsupials and the Placentals; the every year in Europe and America; at placentals, such as the dog, horse, and one sale in St. Louis, the great fur mart ape, form the largest group of existing of the United States, half a million skins mammals, and everyone is familiar with of Australian 'possums were offered, and their principal featu1·es. They are the the Queensland Minister for Agriculture characteristic mammals of e~:tra-Aus has said that in 1919-1920 no fewer than tralian lands, but, with the ex('eptiou of five and a quarter million 'possums and stragglers like the dingo, a few bats, ~ million native bears were slaughtered rats and mice, no placental mammals 1"? Queensland. If this slaughter con are nati,·e to Australia. tmues these poor animals will be exter THE :llOXOTJH::.\[ES. minated. Of course, theTe are other fac tors which are partly responsible for the These are entii·ely confined to Austra lia and New Guinea, where they are re depletion of the indigenous fauna of presented ·by ,the d uc k-bi ll ~d platypus or A~stral ia, for foxes, bush fires, and Ornitltorhynchus and spiny anteaters or POISoned baits are all doing their deadly ecbidnas. 'l'bese are the only mammals work. This appalling waste is neither necessary nor inevitable if proper means ~re taken to prevent it. There is a say mg- t hat "You cannot eat your cake ancl have it too," but, in the case of a timber forest• or ~~ country• full of fur-bearinoob ammals, you can in a sense do both; you can draw your annual tribute of timber or of fur~ and yet p1·eserve the trees and animals for future generations. The annual value of the furs procured from the wild animals of Australia is very considerable, but, if the animals The E chidna or Nat ive P orcupine is able to are reduced in numbers almost to the burrow rapidly and so hide from its enemies. With t he P latypus it forma the most primitive vanishing point, no more income can group or mammals extant. be derived from that source. Photo.--G. C. C'lutton. 66 THE AL". THALLAN l\IU. EUl\1 l\l AGAZLNE. ------·- - whicl: still la~· eggs, a Yery ancient BIR'rli 0~' 'l'llg :\t.A.RSUPIAL. method of bringing forth young, which One striking diffeTence between . ma; wa~ probably at one time cbru:acterishc supial and the higher mammals l~es m of all back-boned animals. In spite of the fact that tbe young marsupial is tlri old-fashioned custom of theirs the born in a veTy helpless immature con monotremcs n<:kle their young and are dition. A full-grown kangaroo may therefore true mamma]~. The fur of the h<.· :;ix feet in hright. ~'eL its ne"·-born platypus is \"ery Yaluable, but, as it is an aquatic animal, and Yery alet't, and is, moreo\"er, tringently protected, it is probably in no immediate danger of ex tinction; nor is the echidna, which is well defended by its sharp spines, and is not useful in any way, although to the blackfellow it is an article of diet. \\ere thee two animals to become ex tinct the whole ~cientific world \VOttld ~e filled with keen regret, but, as Grant .Alien ays in his sprightly Yerse : Although in unanimous chorus .We mourn that, from ages before us, 1\o single l:"na/iosaurus to day should surYiYe, Yet joyfully may we bethink us, With the earliest mammal to link us, We still haYe the OrnithorhJ'IIdllls, Extant and aliYe. :U.!RS"CPIALS. ThC:'::.e, exemplified hy the kangaroo, A newly·born Great Grey Kangaroo, attached to a. teat in its mother's pouch. . Its f~re wombat, bandic·oot and man~' others, limbs are abnormally long and proVlded w:tth form the seroncl great group, and, as claws which are wanting on the weaker hmd limbs. their name implies, they are provided P•hoto.---'6. C. Clutton. in the female with a J)ouch or marsu pium in which the Y?u~g .are carried. •vouno- I:> is no larger than one's thumb. ).far. upials are the chstmcti\e Aush"a A~ oon as it is born the tiny creature lian mammals, and, except for the Ame becomes transfened to its mother's ric·an opo sums ancl the highly interesting pouch, ·where it becomes firmly attached Ccanole:-;/es of' Routh America, they haYe to a teat and remains the1·e perhaps for no $nn·i,·ina relati,·es. In past geologi month~. The manner in which this cal ages tl~e members of this primitive transference is effected is still under dis order were more widely clistrihut{'d, but, c>ussion. It has been observed that the with the rise of a more moderu mam ~·oung of the Virginian opossum are malian type, better equipped f?r the born with abno1·mally long fore-legs, battle of life, tbey graclnally clwmdled. Hrmed with sharp claws, by means of TheY crossed into Austrnlia while that which they crawl up their mother's body coniim•nt wa~ united to, or at any rate and enter the pouch. The same thing le~~ wiclel_\ l'l'Jl the horse and the cow, while the fl esh eating animals, carnivores like the wolf and the lion, have long, sharp teeth with which to grasp their prey, and cut ting teeth to tear the flesh from the hones of their victims. Before mam mals had become the dominant race, the reptiles, whi(·h ·were then the lords of creation, had developed in just the same mc~m . cr, and in just the same directions as the mammals oC to-day. There were g rass-eating reptiles, which occupied tbe pla<'c of the herbivorous mammals, there wer e earn i vorous r eptiles, the lions ancl tigers ot their da.y, huge reptiles wal lowed in primeval 1'ive1s like tbe present day hippopotamus, and still others roam ed the ocean like our whales and dol phins. In this connection one may say Young Native Bear or K oala.; an expert t ree with b·uth that nalure abhors a ,-acuum climber, though rather slow of movement. and fills it with sucb material as is P .tv:o.-G. C'. Chll ton. a,·ailahle. 'fbis modification of one c-la s of animals to fit into various en animal class has its modest beginning, ,·ironments is what is meant by adap mostly in the distant geological past. ti,-e radiation, and it is because the mar Thus the earliest mammals were pro supials ill ustrate tbis great principle in bably insect-eaters, and were provided such a wonderful manner that they are with sharp needle-like teeth, adapted so interesting, and important to the zoo for pierc·ing the integument of insects logist ancl student of evolution. and the bodies of worms. But as time went on these primitive mammals bl'anched out ~in vari ous directions aml occupied dif ferent "spheres of inflnence," each ~·roup becoming adapted for a specialised tUode of life. Thns some took to the water and betame modified fvr an aquatic existence, othe1·s got the habit of c·limbing trees twd became arboreal like the squinels or the native bear, still others be tame bnnowers. Otl1er::: agaiu whif'h live on boTass have Banded Ant·Eaters are primitive animals of great the grinding· type of teeth with zoological interest, which are rapidly nearing extinction. broad crowns, like those of Phot<>-A. 1\fnsgrave. 68 THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM: MAGAZINE. The Tasmanian DevU is a most ferocious animal; it is a. desh-eater and is restricted to Tasmania.. Photo.-G. C. Clutton. The ra.va.ges of Native Cats are well-known to breeders of poultry. This picture shows a mother bringing home a native rat to her half-grown youn!f. Photo.-G. C. Clutton. • THE AUSTRALIAN l\lUSEUi\1 l\IAGAZINE. 69 MARSUPIAL 'l'Y·PES. Tbe primitjve in sectivorous type is represented by the marsupial mole (No- toryct?s) and the banded anteater (Myrmeco bius). The native cat, the Tas nutman devil and Tasmanian tiger are carnivorous. If we examine the skull and teeth of the lat The Marsupial Mole closely resembles the European Mole in its general for~ and in t~e modification of its limbs, which are adapted ter we find that they for burrowmg. It lS confined to the desert regions of Central Australia. are perfectly adapt Photo.---IG. C. Clutton. ed for a .flesh diet. The teeth at the side of tbe,l mouth have In their locomotor apparatus the mar- a shearing . blade and ~he l • TilE AUSTRAL l A~ MUSEUM MAGAZi NE. 70 Animals which have similar modes of Jife de\'clop a similarity in form; no bett o~hcr marsupials, although externally it may resemble them ,·cry little. Again tl1e wu1nbat migut on outwanl appeal'- \ Flying Squirrels, marsupial and placental. Both have membranes between their limbs to eua.ble them to ta.ke long flying lea.ps from tree to tree. But thourh so similar in appearance the Australian form (left) has no a1Rnity with the American (right). P.hoto.-U. t:. Clutton. a nee be classed w-ith the bea ,-er; it has form an arc with tbe lower jaw. hlore the same stocky build and both al'e good o,·er, in both these teeth lack roots, so gnawers and diggers. Comparing their that the~· grow continuously tbroughout skulls we find that in both the front the life of the animals, and no amount teeth are reduced to two in each jaw, or grinding reduces them. 1'hen in both one on each side; these teeth are chisel we find a wide space between the front like, groo,ed, and p laced so tbat they teeth and the succeecli"ng teeth on each · side of th~ jaws, an an·angement which is probably useful in allowing the animal to manipulate its food, turn it over with its; tongne. and paRs it back to the cheek teeth. But m ~ pite of these sil'ik ing: similarities i11 their den tal ap paratus there is no djfTicnlty in clistin guishing the skull of the wombat from thC' skull of any pbwcnlal. F or ex ample, the 1·oof of Marsupial mice are insect-eaters a.nd do not gnaw as does the house mouse. It is supposed tha.t the earliest marsupials which the mouth, the hard found their way into Australia were of this type. palate of placen- Photo.-C{. C'. <'lutton. 72 THE Al" RTHALIAN i\ll!SEV.\[ 1\IAGAZlNE. tals i::; entire. but in marsupials it is pierced by two opemugs. .A.ud the lower jaw iJt prac tieally all mnrsu pi~ll s ( TarsijJe.; 1' the on l~· cxeeption) has a pronounced inward bend to the lowe1· border. There are many other anatomical cliffrr- enccs which distiJ1- guish marsupials from placentals; The Wombat has much in common with the Beaver. Both gnaw thus in marsupials and dig and have evolved the same general form, but they are nevertheless descended from quite different ancestors. the brain is simpler Photo.~G. C. Clutton. than. nntl not so Wl"inkled as that of higher mammals, HABI'rUS AN"D HERITaGE . and there are marked differences in the "\\hen two animals belonging to dif reproductive sy. terns of the two groups. Again, if we examine the spiny an ferent groups have acquired a similar teater of New Guinea, we find that it appearance because of their adaptation has a long slender snout, a feeble lower to similar modes of life we say they jaw and no teeth ; it has a long protus ha,·e the same habitus. And w·uen we iblc tongue which it uses to lap up the find that they differ fundamentally in ants. which form its staple diet. In structure, that their class characters ne the e particula1-s it strongly resembles unlike, and that the sum total of their the great anteater or ant bear of South features necessitates their being placed America, but in internal structure it is in different groups, we say that they wholly unlike that animal, and reveals differ in heritage. Thus the maTsupial its close relationship to the other mono heritage is revealed by the presence of a t··eme, namely the platypus. pouch, by the perforated palate, h.v the other · characte1·s common 'to marsu pial ~ and not found in otLer mammals ~ These are the fea tures which iJHlic·ate the true relatiou sbips of animals, wl1ile tbe habitus characters tend to obscure the true re .Jationships. Thus wben Austral1 an mammals were first made known to the world by Captain Cook's voyag·es, the natnralists of the time were mi:-:led by their superficial rescm blance to well ]mown animals, and The Beaver. being a water dweller has developed a large paddle· like taU. Photo.- tT. C. Clutton. the kangaroo, for TllB AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM )1AGAZINE. - Lower jaw of a Wombat, showing the inward bend. (marked with ?. cross) which is a. dtstinctive mark of marsupial heritage, l'hoto.---'G. C. Clulton. ral heri tage characters, and that this great group is sharply marked off from the plaeentals. That is. the Australian marsupials are the di\·ersified descendants of a rommon ancestral type, which is Skull of a. Wombat (upper figure) a.nd a Beaver (lower figure) showing similar structure belieYed to be repre ented by the small and arrangement of their teeth. mouse-like forms. Phot.o.--IG. C. Cluttou. In ronclusion I would impress upon .my readers that the mammalian fauna example, was clasS€d with the jerboa, of Australia is the most uncommon, and the wombat with the beaver, for that perhaps the most interesting in tbe seemed to them to be a natural classifica world. It is a link with the past, and tion. Closer examination 1·evealed, bow shows affinities with the primitive mam ever, that, in spite of the great diversjty mals of the remote times when the lord displayed by the marsupials, they all be ly reptile was monarch of all he sur long to a single great group with identi- \ ·e ~·ed . Because of this, and because of the wonderful manner in which they il lu h·ate the great principles of adaptive radiation and parallelism in develop ment, surely it is our duty to save the ~~~11 of a T asmanian wolf (left) a.nd a sim ope!ln . wol! (rie ht) showing general Cape Jumping Har e, a placental hopping rec Uanty m their teeth; the former ca.n be mammal resembling the Rat Kangaroo in ognised as marsupial by the two perforations outward form and limbs. in t he pa.la.te. Photo.----G. C. Clutton. Photo.--IG. C. Clut.t~n . TilE .\.l"STIL\L 1.\ ~ i\ll'SE l" i\L .\L\.( L\.Z I~~. 74 ------ Australian m am- mals from extine - '. I tion and preserve them for the scien- titic men and stu- dents of future generations. W~1o ? wuulcl not ratller see one kangaroo bounding tremen- douslY. ovex the plain tba.n a hun dred kangaroo ske letons or skins in a musenmC? [Tlle photographs in this article, when not taken from life, are from specimens in the Australian Museum]. The Rufous Rat K.angaroo is a representative of the hopping tyl)e of marsupial; this species builds a nest of grass. Pltoto.----iG. C. Clutton. NDns:u.\TIC ExHJBIT.- Two cases con \Y.\R CAXOr..-T ite Solomon l::;lamls taining a comprehen~ive collection of \\~ a1· Canoe presented to tlle Museum by medals, seals, and medallions, have re l\Ir. H arry \Yickham, of Roviana, llas· cently been placed on exlribition in the now been placed on Yiew in the Melane entrance hall. The contents include war sian gallery, where, slung from t he roof,. medals aucl war-time badges, exhibition it forml:i an imposing exhibit. The award and commemorati ,.e medals. c·anoe. which is a magnificent example of nati,·e boat-building skill, is forty YJSJT OF A.'li ARCIIAEOLOGIST.-Captain !'ix feet in length, with a beam of three H. W. MtuTa)·, F.S.A., of Surrey, Eng feet ~ e,·cn inches, and is seated for land, who was recently on a Yisit to twenty-two rowers. It is inlaid with Sydney, spent some time in the :Museum pearl and nautilns shell, and highly or examining the ethnological collections, in namentecl with shells and featbers. It which he is keenly interested. He has \vas necessary to pass the \essel in now ]eft for Eng·land, but hopes to re through a window on the first floor, a turn to Australia. ta!';k which in,·oh·ed much ino·ennitv0 • and hard work. Mr. J. H. W1·ight, a.:-;sistapt 0S'I'EOLOGJC ..\L STUDENTS.-Dr. A. N. Taxidermist. formerly of the Royal NaYy,. Burkitt, Lecture1· in Anatomy at the planned and !'upenised the carryin~ o~tc University of Sydney, has been studying of this work with great sk ill and sue the dentition of man and other animall', ce~s. and has made extensive use of our ost~u Bor.o:\rox I sLAND ExHrOIT.-A table logical_ collection. Miss H. T. Stepbens C'ase has 1:ecently been installed in the and Mtss E. 'l.'homas students in Science 1 l\ felane~ian room to accorumodate some and Medicine at the University han• of. the smaller objects f rom the Solomon also fonncl the Museum collection of Islands. such as personal or naments, lim~ skeletons very helpful in their studies. boxes, and examples of shell cunency. THE AUSTRALIAN MURF.UM MAGAZINE. 75 Some Famous Diamonds and their Story. BY THE EDITOR. Probably few of our r eaders bave conqueror. In 1526 it is found in the ever seen a diamond weighing more possession of Sultan Baber, a d.iJ:ect than a few carats; large dia descendant of the warlike Tamerlane, monds are either the property of and the .founder of the Mogul Empire. m on a rc·hs or are ,jealously guarded It remained tbe prc.perty of the :Mogul among the treasures of the world's mil dynasty until t.he invasion of India by lionaires. But all of us may inspect the Fe1·sian conqueror, Nadir Sbab, in glass models, which, though the.v lack 1739. The terrible Aurnngzeb was the the fire o.f tlJe originals, faithflllly re most powerful of the l\;fognl emperors, present them in size aurl shape, and, and it is related that the Kohinoor, approximately at least, in colour. A which, however, was not yet known by collection of such models is exhibited in that name, formed one of the eyes of the Museum, and in tbis article an at the peacock in his famous peacock tt>mpt is made to sketch the stirring his throne at Delhi. which was the capital. tor.\' of some of the more famous clia Delbi was sacked by the P ersian invader moncls counterfeited in the collection. dm·ing t he reign of Mohammed Shah, Trutb is stranger than fiction, we say, the last of the .1\Ioguls. The conqueror and even the writers of fiction, sadly was Yery anxious to po sess himself of lacking in a sense of humour, often use lbe famous gem, but the luckless Mo this trite phrase in r-elating· the imagin hammed was just as anxious to 1·etain ary c,·en ts of their romances. Certainly it, and Nadir's efforts to secure it were the tragic happenings narrated by Wil hafflcd for a long time, until one of the kie Collins in The Moonstone, or by .Arthur fMithless ladies of the harem 1·evealed Morrison in 1'he Green Eye of Goonah its hiding plac·e in the folds of 1I oham arc n ot more strange than the real ad med's turban. It is said tllat Nadir, on ventures which make up the history of first seeing the splendid stone, exclaim such diamonds as the Kohinoor or the eel, "Kob-i-nut·," tbat is, ("Mountain of Hope Blue. The beginning of the story lig-ht"), and the diamond has been is usually shrouded in mysterr. W e known by this name ever since. • know not where, or when, or by whom, At Nadir's death the Kobinoor be the diamonds were found; they appeared came the property of Shah Rokh, to like mcteo1·s and flamed across the pages whom it brought nothing but misfOTtune. ·or history leaving a trail of blood and HowcYer, he rlung desperately to his ruin in their wake. l\Iost of them, like trea ure, enduring the most .fiendish tor the sun, took their rise in tl1e east, for, tures, eYen blinding, rather than part up to the beginning of the eight-eenth with it. In 1751 he concluded a treaty century, India was the only known with .Ainnecl Shah, founder of the Dur source of diamonds. ani .Afghan dynasty, and made the fatal gem over to him. Its possession proved THE 1\!00NT.AIN OF LIGHT. disastrous to the Dm·ani line. and it sub Perhaps the best known of all dia sequently became the property of Run jit-Singh, the ''Lion of the Punjab,'' moll(ls is ~he Kohinoor, which we first who removed it to Lahore. There it hear 0 r in the fourteenth century 0 lt had been held as an beirloom iu the rernained till the Punjab wa annexed family of the Hajabs of Malwa from by Britain in 1840, when it was con fiscated by the East India Company and time immemorial, and when, in 1304, the presented to Queen Victoria the follow 1·cig·uing Hn,jah was defeated by the Sul ta,n, Alaeddin, it became the spoil of the ing· ;vea.r, sin ce when it hcts rema ir"'cl one of the British crown jewels. The story is told that Lord Dalhousie, the ""A carat is now fixed at 200 milligrams then Go,·ernor-General of India, who and 1 oz. avoirdupois is equal to 14H carats about. took charge of the diamond fol' trans- 76 THE AUSTRALIAN _1\-fUSEUM MAGAZINE. mission to England, was so .absent in the Champs-Elysees and there minded tl1at 'he carried it in his waist-' the Regent and .other '-aluables coat po~ket for six weeks, and then dis were discoYered. Napoleon wore the Re cover~d it only bv aecident. gent in the pommel of his sword of state, When it ca~e ·int~ the possession of an_d, it is asserted, at one time pledged Queen Vict01ia the Kohinoor weighed it· to the Dutch Government as security 186 carats, and was unsymmetrical in for a loan. It was subsequently ex shape, with one or two flaws. It was hibited in the Louvre, but in 1903 it was recut, some judges say Yery injudic offered for sale nt an 'lpset price of ious )~·, and now weighs 106 carats. £480,000. THE HOPE BLUE. TH~ Prl.'T DIAMOND. Perhaps of all diamonds that now 'l'be Reo·ent or Pitt diamond has a known as the Hope Blue has the story as 1~mantic as that of the Kohi str angest and most tragic history. Prac noor. It is believed to have been dis tically all who have owned this gem covered by a slave in tb~ Parteal mines •have suffered; some lost life itself, on the Kistnah River in 1701. Ac others reason, fortune, or happiness. cording to one account the :finder cut Why should tbe mere possession of this a hole in the calf of his leg, concealed stone bring misfortune 'I Or is it all the gem in tbe wound, and so escaped coincidence? We know nothing of the with it to the coast. There be met an early history of the Hope, but it was English skipper, who bought it from probably brought ftom India by Taver bim and promised to carry him to a nier, a celebrated French traveller and free countrY. But the faithless sailor, gem collector, who made several jour ha,·ino-0 secu~ed the diamond, threw the neys to the east and had a keen eye s]a,·e into the sea and that was an end fo1· valuable diamonds. It is said that of bim. The skipper afterwa1·ds sold ·Tavernier !';tole the gem f rom a Bur the stone to ~t diamond merchant named mese temple, where, as usual, it formed Jamchund for £1000, squandered the one of the eyes of an idol. In 1688 be money and then banged li~lf, .a ~old it to Louis XIV., King of France. victim of remorse and delirium tre It was then pear-shaped, and weighed mens. Jam<'bund disposed of the dia 67i- carats. It '\Vas occasionally worn by mond, for £20,000 to Thomas Pitt, Go ladies of the French court, and always vernor of Fort St. George, an ancestor brought them ill-luck. Marie Antoin of the famous Earl of Obatham. Pitt ette, who afterwards perished by the brono-ht the stone to England and had guillotine, wore it to a grand ball at the it c~t into a brilliant weighing 136~ Tuileries. The Princess de Lamballe, carats, but, while it was in his possess current opinion regards it as the larger B. Maclean, of Washington, and it is half of Tavernier's Blue, which had apparently still in his possession. The been cut, perhaps by Fals. What be new owner has not escaped the evil in came of the rest of the original stone fluence of the gem, for, shortly after it is uncertain. came into his possession, his five-year It descended to L01·d Francis H ope, old child, the "billion dollar baby," was who in 1894 married the well-known knocked down by a motor car and ac·tress, l\fay Yolle. Tlwir tl.llion was killed. not a happy one, for Lady Francis de THE d.ANCY. serted her husband, who divorced ber in Tbe history of this diamond is so con 1902. In 1901 Lord Francis sold the fused that it is difficult to separate f act Hope to Lord S bolto Douglas, a mem f rom legend. lt wa probably first ber of the ill-fated Qtll3ensberry family, brought from the Orient by Nicholas wl10 wanted it for his pretty wife, the H arlai, Seigneur de Sancy, Ambassador dancer, Loretta Mooney, whom he met at tbe Ottoman Court, where he pur at a Texan mining camp. But the new chased it about .l570. It is described as owner did not have it long, for, ruined originally almor.d shaped, facetted on by his wife's extravagance, he was both sides, and ita weight is given as forced to sell tbe gem. It is not easy to 53i carats. From de Sancy the diamond disentangle the threads of this fateful was borrowed I>Y Henr~· I \' of France, diamond's history during the next few to enable him to raise money for the years; it comes to tbe surface now and hil·e of a body o.f Swiss mercenaries. then as the temp orary property of some B ut the messenger cru:rying the gem to unfortunate, only to disappear again in the King disappeared, and, after some a cloud of rumour. It was owned for time, it was disCO\'ered that he had been a time by J acques Colot, a Paris broker, waylaid and assassinated. De Sancy, who became insane and shot himself. who had great confidence in tl.te honesty The next owner seems to have been and resourcefulness of his emissary, pro Prince Kanitovsky, who lent it to ceeded to tbe scene of the crime, dis Lorens Ladne, a beautiful actress of the covered and disinterred the body, and Folies Berg(H·es- and shot ber from a found the diamond in the stomach of his box the fil'st night she. wore it. Then faithful servitor, wuo had swallowed it it '"as owned by a Greek, Simon Mon to pre,·ent its falling into the bands of tharides, and be, we are told, was thrown the robbers. [t wag then sold to Queen over a precipice with his wife and chil Elizabeth, ~omewhcre between 1590 and dren anJ 'killed. It then came into the 1600, and th us became for a time one of possession of Abdul Haroid, Sultan of the English Crown jewels. ,J ames II 'l'urkey, and continued its baleful career. sold it for £25,000 to Louis XIY of The Sultan's favourite, Salma Tubayba, l•'1 a nee, about the year 1695. Louis was wearing it on her breast when the XY. \VOre it as a bat ornament at hi~ Young Turks broke into the palace, and coronation. It was stolen in 1792, but she was shot dead by her master, the turned up again iu 1828, when it was bullet narrowly missing the diamond. sold by a French merchant to Prince Abdul was deposed in April, 1909, and Demidoff, of Russia. In 18u5 it was the diamond apparently passed into the purchased f rom the Demidoff family by possession of a dealer nallled Habib. He n London firm acting for Sir Jamsetjee sold it in Paris for £16,000 in June, Jeejeebhoy, of Bombay, and once more 1909, and, in November of the same returned to the land of its origin. It yea1·, he was drowned in the wreck of was ag·ain offered for sale in Paris in the J ~~ r-e n c.h liner La, Seyne. Tbe ship's 1867, anrl wa" Lought by the Maharaja safe was recovered by ·a diver, as it was of P atiala. On his death it resumed its wrongly believed that tbe Hope diamond \\"anderings. and in 1906 it was reported was still in Habib's possession. In that William W aldor f Astor presented it November, 1910, it was in America at to Mrs. Langhorne Sllaw on the oc the New York branch o.f the F1·ench firm casion of her marriage to his son, W ;li of Cartier, who sold it to Mr. Edward d or£. 78 THE AUSTRALIAN l\lUSEUM MAGAZINE. 'l'HE ORLOFF. e\·euing, descetHling a jagged slope in The Orloff is first heard of in the an open wot·king when he saw a corner beginning of the eighteenth century, of the lluge diamond projecting from when a grenadier, a deserter from tile tile surface. He dug it out with his Indian Army of France, stole it f1·om pocket knife, and, entering the office of a temple in )fysore. He fted with his the company, be handed the diamond to spoil to Madras, and there sold it for tbe general manager, McHardy, who £2,000 to an English sea captain. The was sitting with the president, Mr. T. purchaser carried it to London, and :M. Cullinan, inspecting the· day's yield disposed of it for £12,000. It was of diamonds. '"'' e can imagine their subsequently bought by P'l'inee Orloff, astonishment. The stone was taken to and presented by bim to Catherine Il Pretoria, where it was exhibited to the of Russia, in the hope that he might be public for several days, subsequently be restored to her fa,·om·. It remained ing sent to the London office. For two among the Russian crown jewels until years it lay in the London and West recently. \V here is H now? It weighs millster Bank, its enormous size making 193 carats, and bas the shape, and is a sale impossible. Finally, at the in about the size of half a pigeon's egg. stance of President Louis Botha, it was THE GREAT :U:OGUL. purchased b:v the Tl'ans,·aal Government Tbis stone was described by Taver for £200,000, and presented to King nier, who saw it at the Court of Aur Edward, as a recognition of his Ma ungzeb, in 1665. He puts its weight jesty's grant of a constitution to the Colony. The Cullinan was cut by the at 280 carats, but states that it had Amsterdam fil'm of ,Joseph Asscher and been cut from a rough stone weighing Company, the process taking nine 787! carat . It had the shape of an months. It was cut into a drop bril egg cut in hal f, thus resembling the liant weighing 516~ carats, another of smaller Orloff diamond. Its subsequent 92 carats, square brilliants of 309 and history is entirely unknown, though at G2 cru·at!;, and about one hundred smal tempts have been made to identify it ler stones, all without flaw and of the with the Kohjnoor and the Orloff. It finest quality. The united ·weig·bt of has either beell wholly lost or cut into the g·ems cut from this 'marvellous dia several sma11er stones. mond is 1,,050 carats. Experts value 'I'll E LARGEST DIADtOXD. tltem at a million pounds. The Cullinnn, though its history has, Tn October, 1919, another large dia !;O far, been pro:-;aic enong·ll, has the dis mond weighing 1,500 carats (about half tinction of being the lru.'gest diamond the weig-ht of the Cullinan) was un known; in its rough state it weighed earthed at the Premier lVIine; it is 3,025~ carats, about 20 ounces troy. It thung·ht that this once formed part of was found in January, 1905, in the Pre the Cullinan, wiJich was not a com mier Mine, Trans,·aal. Tbe mine man plete <·ryl:tal, one side showing a clcn,· ager, .F'rederi<·k \Yell<;, was, late one age surface. AR'l'ISTS A'J' 'rJJE 1\lusc:uM.-Arti:3ts and :\fi"s R. Blakemore makes weekly Yisits art classes are frequent and welcome during the session for the purpose of viRitors to the Museum. Miss Dora painting Australian birds, and the de Olfsen, the well-known sculptress, work ,·otees of eommcrciu l art find in our ed fot· some weeks in om· shops, pre c·ollections material whicb can he used paring models of typical Australian in their work. The students of the animals which will be reproduced a-:; Sydney Ad School have made extensive statuettes. An art class from tbe Tech uc:;e of the skeletons exhibited in the nical College under the leadership of Osteologiral Gallery. THE AL.~THA LlAX MU SEUM 1\IAGAZlN.K ID A Naturalist on the Great Barrier R eef. BY E . A. Bniccs, B.Sc. Lec·tnrcr in Zoology, Dnivcr!'ity of l:>ycl ncy. My trip to the Great Barrier R eef tbe huge bulk or the coral rock, and in of Australia wa!" undertaken for the many ca!'c" appear only at low tide. purpose of l'tndyiug the marine life of H <;rc is a shallow, warm-water sea, tbis f ascinating area of reefs and shal where many important industries baYe lows, of i~lands and lagoons. Among arisen, such as pearl-shelling, I e ··be-clc these inter<>sting places I sp ent a con mer gathering, and turtle-fishing, only si mo\'ed by washing the shells in the brauching "stag-horn coral'' to the great sea. The demand by button makers rounded masses of the ''brain corals," for troehus shell ha been created with which may be three feet or m ore in dia in the la ~ t ten years. The catches after meter. being prepared for market. are shipped The colours oC the living corals are to Japan where rows ot' buttons are brilliant and cliYersc, one branching rut from ea<.'h shell. Yariety being a beautiful lig·bt g-reen with the A COR,\L Rbl::F. end of each branch terminating in n brig·ht yellow tip. Some ar e vari At first ·ight a coral reef lli ,·erv ous shades oC pink, while others again di appointing; the surface is composed are a brilliant blue. In and out be of dead. and broken coral presentino·:::. a tween the coral branches of these sub l merged gardens dart many bizarre ancl ong• v1sta of heaps of discolOlU'ed frao--l:> ments which have been piled up by the highly-coloured flamboyant fishes, which action of the waves. A.s tbe coral harmonise to an .extraordinru.·y degree grows nearer to the surface of the sea with their fl orid sunounclings. In the portions be<'ome exposed to the direct deeper channels between the reefs large heat of the sun when tbe reef is un apanish mackerel, exceeding :ih·e feet in co,·crcd at low tide and under these length, were often caug·bt on lines baited circumstances the coral soon dies. The with red flannel, and trailed f1:om the uran('hed forms (''stag·-horn coral'') die stem oi our boat as we sailed through first, and their broken limy skeletons the narnnv tot'tnous passag-es. compose the main bulk of the reef. In Attached to the ides and keel of our the deeper p9ols left bv the recedino- boat were the strange sucker fishes, • V b hde, and on the outer edge of the reef which cling on by means of a large o,·al flourish the li,·ing corals w bicb are of sucker on the n pp er sul'face of the extreme beauty and of the utmost in bead. The Jish arc thus carried from place to place, and only loose tbeir tel·est. As these continue to grow all holcl when tl•ey temporarily leave the around the edges in the deeper water ship to g·o in search of food. they are continually adding to and thus As one wacles t hro11g·h the shallow enlarging the size of the reef. There water oE the reefs la.rg·e blac·k cucumb er arc mn ny diftcrent kinds, fn •'n the sltapcc1 animals ma~' be seen protruding Bleached corals from the Great Barrier Beer. TilE Al'H'I' HALlAN :MUSEU:l\£ MAGAZI~E. 81 ------ from the <'l'e,· ices in the rock, or slowly c·olom·ecl starfh.hes, which stand Odt m crawling o\·er the fine white sand. These hold r elief against the glistening white are the bcehe-de-mer, and at one time of the coral sand. they wer e extensively collected and EAQ!,E ISLA~\0 . laro-elvt> • exported to China. Although called bv the fishers "sea slugs" or "teat- At Eagle Island a pair of beautiful fish," ti1ey ru·e neither slugs nor fish, sea eagles were seen hovering o\'er but are c·l osely r elated to the star head, and we found their nest, which fishes. stood about ten feet in height, on the windwarrl side of the island. The nest (;JAN'I' Sh:A A~E:i\WXES . eon tained one egg and a young bu·d The familiar crimson-coloured s ea measuring about two feet from tip to anemones from Port J ackson and our tip of the oulstret<'hed wings. W e re adjacent coa:-stal beac.Ues are v~ritable moved the birll from the nest .for the pygmies compared to smne of theH·h·o purpose of obtaining a photograph, but pical al1ies. The Great Barrier R eef our eag·let proYcd to be in a pugnacious mood, and it was only after consider able difficulty that I succeeded in mak ing an exposure. Large mottled eel proYed t o be Yery (·ommon on the reefs, usually lying "-ith their bodies closely pl'essed along nar row grooves in the coral r ock. When cHsturbed they would make off tbTougb the shall ow \\ atcr to ot her groo\·es. 1n t 1 ·\'hie h their bodies fitted so perfectly th3t they merged with the surrounding r.d< -.nd wcrc almost immediately lost l::ight of. A small species of shark with a b111l s-e ~ ·e pattern on the side of the Cfa.m shells and large blue-coloured Starfishes standing out in bold relief aga.inst the bot1y ap peared to haunt the same loca glistening white of the coral sand. lity a~: the reef eel . 'rurtles were sometimes met witl1 either produces giant specimens which may ll1 ~he roc:k pools or swimming in the measure no lesg than f rom 18 inches to 0pen sen, while "'C fr·eq uently passed 2 feet a<'rosg their expanded discs. coiled se:t-~n akcs basking in the warmth 1'he e g iant anemones are further in of the snn as they floated passively on teresting on account of tbe circum the surfa<'e of the water. stance that theY are ~elf-constituted AXD ·rnEIR OIL. ltharbours 0 r r efuge" to sundry fishes necoxr.s and crab~. The anemones are them The dugongs form a highly charac selves bright in (·olour, but the associated teristic and intere~ting group of reef fishes are e,·en more so. In addition a frequenting marine mammals which are small crab sluwes the sheltering JlOs the object of a regula!' fishery chiefly pitality of the anemone. Some of these on Mc·ount of lhrir valuable oil. Du tropical coral-rec E- frequenting- anemones, g-ongs a re t• sentially sorial in therr habits which ha,·e their tentacles beantifully nnd assemble in herds, the females be branched, must be cautiously handled in ing always much more nume1·ous than consequem·e of' tlwir notable stinging the males. The adult animal reaches a properties. J<'j lgth of eight to ten feet, and has a li'rom the ~id e o.f our boat we were cl:stindly rounded muzzle, while the able to look down into the cleaa: depths n10uth of the male is armed with a of the S<'n and mlmi1·e the wonders of r air of large projerting tusk-like teeth. the ocean ued. 'Vhole stretches of the Dngongs are herbi ,·orons, and their food sea fl oor are cover ed over by the. SQ-. eousists almost exclusively of the marine called soft corals with here and there gra~s . which grows in great abundance collec-tion ~ of clam shells and large blue- O\'Cr tht r eef-flats. 82 THE AUSTR.t\LLAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. Dugongs on a northern beach. The chief va.lue of tbe dugong is· tbe often heavily enerusted with oysters oil yielded by the liver. The quantity and barnacles. Muddy sediments ac· varies very considerably, sometimes as cumulate in the quiet water among the much as eight to ten gallons being trees, and thus the land gains on the taken f rom a single individual captured sea. during the winter months, but on an The Jnmpmg mang,rove fish (Peri L nu; AUH'L'HA LI A~ NCHBUi\( l\1.\ lL\ZJ~E. S3 their front fins, with the head raised, skin into the miuulc bl ood vessels with bearing a pair of goggle eyes, 'vhich which the tail fin is plentifully sup seem to proh'Udc f rom their orbits. The plied. front fins, which are bent at an angle The ground around the roots of the like an elbow-joint, are used for hop roangroYe trees is generally well rid ping over the mud fiats ot· for climbing dled witb crab hole., whic·h serve as ahont on the roots of the mangroves. retreats for the <'alling or fidd ler crabs. Sin<'<' the fish spends a considerable These cr abs are remarkable for the The goggle-eyed mangr ove 1isb (Perioptbalmus K oelreuteri rests with its tail in the water and the head and tr unk exposed. Photo:_..\, R. McCulloch. amount ol' time out of water. its g-ills enormous !'i:w ol' one of the hand , al'e probnbly o( vct·y little use to it, g·enel'ally the right, in tbe male, which ancl the tai I thon acts as a breathing may actually exceed in size the rest of 01·gan . The mangrove fish rests With the body. It is not known what pur its tail in the water with the bead and pose this organ serves, bnt it is sup trunk exposed; under these circum posed that the male s tops up the mouth stances the fish is able to b1·eathe of the burrow with it when l1 e and the through ils tail I he o~ygen dissolved in female are snf<.'l,V in <=idc. It is also used the sea water passing through the thin ns n weapon in combats with other 84 THE AUSTHALIAN MUSEUM: MAGAZlNE. males. The males probably use it f or coast the ant-house plant is found. Be exciting the admiration of the females sides the "white ants" (termites), ·whicl1 in com'tshlp, since they may be seen construct a great mound nest sometimes at the mouths of theil· buTrows with the 18 feet in height, there are true ants large band, which is very brilliantly which make theh· home in the curious coloured, in constant motion as though lm tton orchids. 'fbese ant-bouse plants beckoning to attract the attention of the are usna.lly to be found growing on the females. When feeding they always hold pr.por-bark trees. On e part of the or the hand ready for use, the long-stalked chid is enlarged to form a.n irregular mass about four inches in diameter. It has one or two entrances, a~d is honey combed throughout by a series of tun nels, which serve as the home of a numerous colony of small black ants. Green ants a:re also exceedingly plen tiful in the dense coastal scrub. They build their nests of varying sizes in t11e trees by fastening tog-ether bunches of leaves, and as the colony grows more leaves are added to the structure. The building of the nest is a most interest ing spectacle; a gTeat many of the ants assemble along· the edges of two green leave.o;; which are close tog·ether, and reaching from one to the other, gradual ly bring their edges into contact. Other ants now bring some pupae from anc>ther nest, and pass them backwards and forwarcls from one edge of the held leaf to the other, at the same time pressing the pupae against each leaf. A white secretion oozes from the pupae, and this quickly dries, and holds the The Ant-house plant, which serves as the home of a. numerous colony of small black ants. leaves together. P.hot{)-A. R. McOullocb. Almost all the animals referred to in this ln-ief description of the Great Ba.r eyes keeping a sharp lookout over the rier Reef of Australia are exhibited in top. I£ alarmed they scurry off side the museum galleries, and are accom ways, holding the large hand fOI'\vards panied by explanatory labels, giving· full in a fighting attitude. details concerning their curious habits ANTS .A}.TD TERMITES. and other features of special interest, In the low-lying co1mtTy near the and importance. The Spider-eating Insects of Australia. B'y G. H . H .A:RDY. · Spiders belong to the most abundant trance wait for other creatures to come class of the invertebrates, other than within reach, and still another that insects, to be seen in the Australian seeks its food under water. bush. Tbere at·e species that hunt their Spiders themselves form a staple food game, some that weave an entangling for other c1·eatures, such as birds, and net to snare their prey, others that sink hence many secure special cavities to a shaft in' the ground and at the en- retire into on the least suspicion of THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUl\f ~iAG.A.ZlNE. 85 clanger. They roll a leaf, find a crack ichneumon flies that prey upon spiders or crevic·e, 01· construct a hole to pro in tbe forro of external parasites. The tect thcmseh-es from the larger preda larYae lie along the upper side of tbe tory animals. They also fall a prey to abdomen of their prey, attachecl near variom:: insec·ll', but usually only one the hasc, and ·with the head lying away spec·ies is preyed upon hy any spider from the head of the spider. .A. lan·a eating insect. of the ichneumon bas not been found in A certain large yellow wasp which a Rtage prior to this, where it remains bE'l ongs to the family Pompilidae hunts one or two clays; within a night it for on<> of those species that makes a feeds, becomi ng more aud more bloated, hole in the ground. These wasps can till finally nothing is left of the spider be ~rcn entering hole 11fter bole until a but skin. The larva the!l spins a cocoon spider is found. The wasp boldly en while hanging in the spide1·'s web, and, ters, but the spider, by fal' the mol'e in a fortnight, there emerges the winged aeti,·c of the two, slips past, and, with form of the ichncmnon. One species the wasp close hehind, an exciting ch<1-;;e occu1·s i11 Tasmania, a second in New beg-in:::. AR quick aR a stroke of lightn South "Vales, ancl a third in Queen.:; ing will the spider seek and find shel lancl , so probably other ichneumons with ter, behind a stone, uuder a leaf, or an;\' this habit will be found distributed o,·er where that affords cover. The wasp is Au. tralia. usually left far behind. but, with the Tht> A~D MusEUli , .. Fnrv.aTg CoLLECTIONS. BY J. R. KINGHORN. Tbe Museum has lately been the meet that we indulged m, in tbe Musenm lec ing place for the annual conference of ture hall. the Royal Anshalasian Omithologists' When the R.A.O.U. finished its meet Ucion. Here o1·nithologists from all ings in Sydney, a ten days' camp was part_ of the Common wealth gatheretl to bel able for the use of students and other final result will be that any indi\·idual worker$;. The condition of the Museum specimen of any . pe<'ie can be found collections is excellent, this being due to within a few seconds. Any species the vigilance of a specia lly trained staff. speciall.v asked for i. available for in In the past the birds were ~eatterecl spection, and students and worker. will tbronghout many cliffcnmt <·ahinet:o:. but alwavs recei,·e such facilities for study, they arc now nndrrgoing a <·muplete re and · as much of our time as can he anangement and c·atalogning. and the p laced at their disposal. Primitive Magic and Sorcery. Amongst the manv cnrious articles in practise as sorct>rcrs, wlto oftEm have the Museum ethnographical collections to quali fy by rigid prepatation before is a small cylindrical bamboo b ox from setting up in the business. the c:1st end District of P apua partly l Tn Jess one is a~so(·iated with native fill ed with Yegetable mould. and capped people it i!'\ difficult to realise how in by a rind li cl. sep arable magic or sorcer.Y is from ..eil: daily li fe. If the does not I t is used, by a proc·css of mak:e rain fall, it i · attributed to sorcery. and tbe belieYe, to obtain certain possessions f rom another nati,·e. Tbe o·wner of the local practitioner 1s requisitioned to box clips his finger in cocoanut "milk," then into the box, and smears· tbe mould around his lips, meanwhile asking for what he reqni1·es. It is used more es peciH11y .for obtaining- possession of the wife or a pig· belonging to another tribesm:1n , and, owing· to the belief ef the latter in the potency of the box and its contents, he dare not refuse. Sorcery or mag ir enters largely into the life and experien ce of all natiYe peoples. ln fact one sees its survival in many of the fears and sup erstitions cmrcnt amongst civilised communities. It may be defin ed as an attempt to pro duce a resnlt by some extraneous agen<'y. superhuman o1· occult. As .• a rule those who pradiec it claim to have special cont:1ct with spi1·its, but, as in this <'ase. a material agenry is com monlY used, for the profession has its own ·properties and implements of trade. These practires are only possible be cause of the psychological condition of the natiYes. 1' he well-balanced mind knows there is nothing mag-ical about the box or its contents. but the Papuan thinks otherwise; and this. taken in conjunction with the p ersonaljty and reputatiOn of the operator. bring-s about the rlesirec1 r esult. A specinl rlass of Papuan Sorcery tube. individuals seems to be set apart to Photo.--G. C. Clutton. ss THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. -counteract it for the benefit of the doubting the wisdom of llis forbears. growing crops. "\\ben a man has bodily Should he show signR of disbelief ke pains, or is attacked by an illness, the would be subject to the ridicule of his malady. is often remo,ed by. the n:ttiYe tribal companions. Repeated successes sorcerer, who pretends that be has ex- of the sorcerer tend also to establish tracted the offending· cause. Magic can the beliefs inculcated. On the other only be OYercome b~' counter-magic. and hand, most of his efforts at·e b1·ougbt so the time of the sa,·age is largely em to a successful conclusion by the readi ployed in bringing enl on his enemies, ness of his fellow tribesmen to believe or counter-charming ag·ainst their ma tbo·i· he can do what be professes. More chinations. O\'er, the nntutorecl mind generally likes, The mentality of the nati'e does not or is protJe to be deceived, and even pe1·mit him to put things and eYents mru.1y civilised people prefer the ex to the test of natural laws or common perience w hi eh makes them stare and sense. This is a stage to which be has wondel', rather than to develop the not attained. He is taught certain critical f:.wnlty whicb enables them to things and he adopts them as the ar as<·ertain the truth and eliminate such ticles of his creed, and never dreams of things as myste1·ies from their creed. Peculiar Agencies of Animal Distribution. BY F. A. nicKEILL. Under tl.Je h·iking heading "Sb1·imps latter are ~ituated on very high ground, from the Sky,'' there appeared in the and this leaves one at a loss to explain pages of the SydneJJ Jtlorning Herald offhar.d thu manner in which t!he crea of August 1st, 1918, a notice from Sin ture gained access to these disconnected gleton, N. S. Wales, reporting the fact and out of the way places. Tbe record that large CJna.ntities of sb1·imps fell from Singletc'n provides one definite with rain during a prolonged showel', solution to ae<·ount for the peculiar dis and continued to d~sc~nd for some time. tribution of this species of shrimp. In· As was then l'uggested, a whidwind other purls of the world, however, the could wen be the responsible agency in (,rrasional tran~portati c n of small ani bringing about suclJ an apparently mals by whirlwinds, wl1ich has been refer strange happening. \\Tinds of this na red to. )Jy Charles Darwin as "w bat may be ture de,·elop under unstable atmos eallccl aec·iclental means," probably does pheric c-onditions, and, while traYelling not pro,·icle the main means of distri along, could lift po.i.'tions of a water bution along the peculiar lines exbibited surface mneb in the same way as they in the ea ·e of the Australian Paratya. carry up dust. Small fre5hwater fishes It is probable that tbil' 1atter bas been still ali\'e ha,·e not uncommonly been c~istrihnte Electric Rays. BY .A. R. McCULLOCII. Is there any fisberman, professional experience of testing its elect1·ic proper or amateur, on om· coast, wbo is not ties, so it was soon scooped out onto the acquainted with E lectric Rays, or Nnm beach, where it was prevailed upon to bies as they are sometimes called 3f Their deliYer about fift.'· succe s:\'e shocks in extraordinary powers of giving off elec a space of ten minutes or so. These tric discharges has br ought them under were quite intense at first, but gradually the attention of almost every fisherman weakened, and were felt from all pal'ts -sometimes more forcibly tban can be of the fish, including e\'en the \'entl·al remembered with comfort. fins and the riil1 of the suout. An ef A party of biology students from the fort to kill the Gsh by stabbing it sud UnJ.versity on their annual excur denly tbl'ougb the brain produced a pro siop to Port Stephems, recently dis nounced discharge which resembled a covered a medium-sized example of the blow on the biceps of the stabber. due common species, Ilyp)iarce subnigra, to the sudden contraction of that muscle. in shallow water. It burrowed Another in,·estigator, with extra good beneath the sand witb extra- control of his netTes, retained his hold ordinary rapidity when it obsen-ed their of a knife while inserting it into the presence, doubtless realising the pecu electric organ on the sides of the body, liar inquisitiveness of such people. Rut and felt the shock completel.'~ through all to no avail. One member of tlu~ bis body from his arm to his feet. ~ben party seized a water-logged stick and one p laced a foot upon the fish a shock commenced to dig it out, while anotber, was felt m the lower muscle~ of the nmpvare of the identit:v of the prey. calf of both legs. simultaneously stabbed it witli a feroci The ele<·tric properties of the numbfish ous looking bowi1!-kr~ife. Both jumped would appeal' to be met·(l!y for protec several. feet in the air as they .received ti ,.e. purposes, since the mouth i!? s.o n viol-ent shock, and ve1·y nearly allowed small, and the teeth so feeble, that none the fish to escape. It was rbaracteris but small fishes and crabs a1·e devoured. tically clumsy in its movements, bow Were a shark or other large enemy ever, and considered its greatest safety to seize a numbie, it would doubtless lay in seclusion beneath the sand. But liberate it after the first shock. One th(l students were not to , be denied the could hanlly imagine the predicament 90 TliE AUSTH ALIAN :.\1[ 1-)EU:l\I j\J AOAZl NE. of anY animal bold ~nough to swallow The electric organ::; of European oue aii,·e-it would <·ompletely outclass numbfishes ha,·e lwen studied in detail, that of the foolish monk who swallowetl and most interesting tl ala eoncel'ning the th·ied i)ea-;. The insulating prim·iples them have heen gather ed tog·ether. The of ll:<' fi,_h ar·c eYidently \'ery well ar- organ consists of a series o l' hexagonal 1·ml"ed. since the discharge loses none cells arranged n•rtically bet wecn the of its intensity e,·en when the fish is upper nnd lower surfaces, and filled with ~l jelly-like substance. Tbe dis 1\• •inae> on w('t ~ancl, and, as w;n 1)ro,·ecl. <•an he tran~mittcd along a "·et stick charge bas all the properties of clec from the water. which 1 ~ not a little tric·ity, aud will both cause a spark and remarkable. magnetise the needle. Xear the eye" of the spec- imen Iefer There arc three different kindr; of rccl to abon>, were thn:e leethes of a numbfh;hes so far recorded from the kind pernliar to flSh, whieh aroused waters of thi~ State: but two of these some comment as to their eircnmstan<·es are re!>tric·ted to de~per water , and al'e during a distlull'ge. Do they too re taken only h~· the trawlers. A fine ex <·eiH• n shock or al'e they in ~ ulate Notes and News. L~.C'l'i.: R 8S 'ro 'l'HE BLll\ o.- To serve the museum in Amenca. .Mr. C. H edley, v eople is first and last the aim of the a member of our stuff, who was study Australian Museum. The old-fashioned ing the impro,·ements in mnseum ad museums did not houbJe about people ministration practised in New York, be who could not help themseh·e , but, came interested in their treatment of "·hjJe those who are cJe,·er and strong blind Yisitors. On his return to Syd need little help, those of our fellow ney he introduced their meihod of lee- Blind students from the New South Wales Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, and the Blind. in the Australian Museum Lecture Theatre. After the various animals have been described by the senior demonstrator they are handled by the students who, aided by his assistants, are thus en:>.bled to form some idea of the size, shape and texture of the specimens. P hoto.-'G. 0. Clutton. eitizens who u1·e weak and helpless re · turing to the blind. Some article from quire our consideration. 1.. better way the Museum collection, :s uch as a ruonnl.ed in this direc·tion as in many others bas a11i mal or a native weap on, is chos<'ll been pointed out by the newer of the by the speaker. In simple language he ; Till!} AUS'fRALIAN ~fUSEUJ\f "JlAGAZINE. 91 describes the appearance, use, and struc- visitecl the curious mound springs of ture of the article to the blind folk, and Central Australia, and examined Lhe fina1ly the artic:le is taken round to be gypsum deposits and salt lakes of Cape handled by each visitor in turn. By Y orke P eninsula. In Western Australia pa~sing his hands o,-er it the student Profe ~ sor David tra\'ellcd as far north gains by touch a complete knowledge of as )\l'ullagine, where he in pectecl the re its texture, weight, and size. .Meanwhile markable auriferous and diamond-bear he il-5 reminded o[ Lhe particu1ar points m_g conglomerates which are found notul by the lecturer. Perhaps three there. He also examined the Collie and or four such articles will be studied hy It-win Ri,·er coal meastu·es of 'Vestern the part.y during their Yisit. In tbe end Austl'alia, an(l was able to establish im- the blind boy or girl probably carrJe·' portant <·on·elation · with the coal beds away a 0etter knowledge of the things (Jf Eastern Australia. Sir Edgcworth stndied than those who have seen them, traYclled extensively oYer the great Nul but !"ecn them with a hasty g-lance. The la.rbor Plains in the south east corner blincl stndents, so their teacher ~ays, of \Yeste rn Australia; these form a near look forward to their ''isit to thl' ly ]e\'(~1 and almo t treeless expanse, Musenm rather a~ a treat than as }'IJUX ExurnrT.-By 1·emonng- a snake whiC'h had three fangs in its numher of Buka ce1·ewonial paddles Jaws, two being together on one side, spa<.'l' was found in the wall cases of the wbile there was only one on the op l\Iclancsian room for displaying the col posite side. Before and since that en lettion of Fijian ethnography. Among quiry similar letter s ba,·e reached the the objects placed on Yiew are ome l\lnseum. all of wbich have been. an·· fine example· of glazed pottery, ponder swered, but, for the enlightenment of ous dulr, lapa cloth, and dome tic lin others, it might be as well to give Ltere plemcnls ~lnd ornaments. , petial nl a brief explanation of the occurrence tcniion may be eallel1 to the e:xbibits il of such peculiarities. All Yenomous lusLnlting the luwa-drinking custom snakes ha\'C a. reserve stock of fangs an cl t !le C'annibalisti<· habits of old li'iji. gTowing in the gnn1s and they are in Fo::-;u. Wn ..1L~. -Last yea ~r Fxofes or \'arions stages of development; the T. 'l'llomson Flynn, of the Unin~rsity of smallest is so small that it ·would take 'l'asmanin. had the good fortune to find a lens to detect it, while the most ad n"tuccd pair (one on each side) are well llw :::k nll nnd parl of the skeleton 0 r a sc1ualodout wl~e1lc in the M10cene beds de,·elopcd and quite ready to take an near Tahle Cape. Tasmania, where its adi \'C part us soon as the fang'$ in use remain:; haYe been e t..~bedded for at least cu·t- lost either t.hrougb accident or cast two mi11ion years. These wbale were aside through t.he natural shedding of voraeious creatures, with harp cusped the teeth. The maxillar,\· bone, to wbi~h teeth something like tho e of tbe shark, the .fangs are attached, llas two sockets, and are now quite el.i:inct. nor ba\e one containing the fang in nse, and an they left any direct descendants, for other along side it for the reception of existing whales followed another line of the resen·e fang. Y ery often when tbe descf'nt. They show distinct e\'idenc·e reserve one de,·elops to0 quickly it takes that whales ha\'e descended from carni its plac·e beside the one in use, but it ,·orouR animals. The remarkable peei does not become firmly attached to the mcn found by Professor Flvnn must Done or \·cuom apparatus until the old ha\'e reached ~ length of abo~1t sixteen one is out of the way. Snakes with feet when alive. The difficult task of tbl'(~e fang·s are not rare, and there are preparing casts of this valuable skull se\'eral in the Museum collection. for tlistribution to cieutific institutions YIC'L'ORlAX \'ISlTOR.- Mr. Kenyon, was entrusted by Profess(!)r Flynn to A. S. this Museum, and Mr. G. C. Glutton and vf the Hi,·ers and \\"ater Supply Com his assistant, 1\[r. J. Kingsley, ha\'e mission o( Yictoria, recently paid a carried out tlJe work Yery successfully. ,·isit to the Museum, primarily to ar Professor Flynn write : "It is a pleasure range exchanges o[ aboriginal stone im to be able to express myself iu the plements, by which our collection of highest terms of admiration of the fine \yietorian stone axes and flaked material \~Ork which your 1\h. Cl r:.tton has per has been considerably increased. formed in the execution o!: the... c ca_t . R~::COIW A'l"l'EN DA..'(CE.- On Eigbt-hout They are, I firmly believe, worthy of any Day, 3rd October ot' this vear 5 600 scientific: institution in the world." ~ ' ' people passed in through tbe Museum SNaKE.' FANGS.-1\Ir. R Fnlton, of turnstile. This 1s the h1ghest number ot the Pub he School, Upper Colo, writes Yisitors e,·er recorded for one day since- that he has recently examined a black the Mu Nlll• was. fomwed. ·