Part 161 (1/2)

”The great island-continent of Australia, together with the South-eastern Austro-Malayan islands, is especially characterized by being the horoup of lowly nated marsupials, or pouched-mammals Indeed, with the exception of the stillmammals, nearly the whole of the mammalian fauna of Australia consists of thesecertain rodents and bats, together with the native dog, or dingo, which may or may not have been introduced by man”

1896 F G Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p 30:

”The presence of a predo marsupial order in Australia has, besides practically establishi+ng the long isolation of that continent froenious theories professing to account for its survival to this last stronghold”

<hw>Marsupial Mole</hw>, n the only species of the genus Notoryctes (qv), N typhlops [from the Greek notos, `south' (literally `south wind'), and rhunchos, a `snout']; first described by Dr Stirling of Adelaide (in the `Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia,' 1891, p 154) Aboriginal name, Urquamata

It burroith such extraordinary rapidity in the desert-sands of Central Australia, to which it is confined, that, according to Mr Lydekker, it may be said to swim in the sand as a porpoise does in the water

<hw>Marsupial Wolf</hw>, n See Thylacine and Taser

<hw>Martin, <></hw>>n a bird coland

The species in Australia are--

Tree, Petrochelidon nigricans, Vieill;

Fairy, Lagenoplastes ariel, Gould; called also Bottle-S (qv)

1896 F G Aflalo, `Natural History of Australia,' p 128:

” the elegant little Fairy Martins (Lagenoplastes ariel), which construct a remarkable mud nest in shape not unlike a retort”

<hw>Mary</hw>, n used in Queensland of the aborigines, as equivalent to girl or woman ”A black Mary” Coory</hw>, n a prickly shrub of New Zealand, Discaria toumatou, Raoul; also called Wild Irishman (qv) The Maori naory, with various spellings, is a corruption, ory evidently arises by the law of Hobson-Jobson from the fact that the spikes draw blood

1859 J T Thoo Gazette,' Sept 22, p 264:

”Much over-run with the scrub called `touru'”

Alex Garvie, ibid p 280:

”Much of it is encumbered with matakura scrub”

1892 W McHutcheson, `Ca in Indian file through the o Witness,' 7th May, p 48:

”The tea generally tastes of birch or Matagouri”

<hw>Matai</hw>, often abridged to Mai, n

Maori name for a New Zealand tree, Podocarpus spicata, R Br, NO Coniferae Black-pine of Otago

1883 J Hector, `Handbook of New Zealand,' p 124:

”Mr Buchanan has described a log of matai that he found had been exposed for at least 200 years in a dense da enfolded by the roots of three large trees of Griselinia littoralis”

<hw>Match-box Bean</hw>, n another name for the ripe hard seed of the Queensland Bean, Entada scandens, Benth, NO Legu plant The seeds are used for match-boxes See under Bean

<hw>Matipo</hw>, n another Maori name for the New Zealand trees called Mapau (qv)