On the fossil mammals of Australia. Part VIII. Family Macropodidae: Genera Macropus, Osphranter, Phascolagus, .Sthenurus, and Protemnodon. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Volume 164, 1874. [KANGAROO]
London: Taylor and Francis, 1874. 1st Edition. No wrappers, as extracted. First edition of a classical paper complete with 8 lithograph plates by the famous English paleontologist, biologist and comparative anatomist Richard Owen. This paper is the first in a series of ten entitled "On the Fossil Mammals of Australia." NOTE: We offer other Owen papers separately, including almost all papers in his “On the Fossil Mammals of Australia” series.
Family Macropodidae: Genera Macropus, Osphranter, Phascolagus, .Sthenurus, and Protemnodon: describes the finds of the remains of the extinct Kangaroos. " Through the adventurous journeys of John Gould, F. R. S., in the wilds of Australia, and by the noble works in which he has given the results of his zoological observations in that continent and the adjoining island of Tasmania, we mainly know the extent and kinds of variation under which the Kangaroos there exist. The present communication gives part of the researches into the forms of those saltatory herbivorous Marsupials which have passed away, or, at least, are known to naturalists only by their fossil remains."(Owen).
Owen “distinguished himself with his powers of organization and deduction. At the same time he showed himself to be a peerless anatomist with instincts for reconstruction almost on a par with the great Cuvier in Paris. He became such an expert on the anatomy of animals that he was granted first refusal on any animal that died at the London Zoological Gardens, and these he would invariably have delivered to his house for examination. Once his wife returned home to find a freshly deceased rhinoceros filling the front hallway” (Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, 88). Item #1352
CONDITION & DETAILS: London: Taylor and Francis. 4to. No wrappers as extracted from "Philosophical Transactions", 1874. Vol. 164, pp. 245-287. 8 lithographed plates. Complete. The text is clean and bright. Very slight to minor toning on the plates. Very good condition.
Price: $145.00