ZAGLOSSUS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Since its discovery in 1876, specimens of the Long-beaked spiny anteater 

 of New Guinea have been rare in collections. Hitherto the osteology of but a 

 single specimen has been completely known, and of the anatomy of the soft 

 parts practically nothing has been pubUshed. No less than five forms have been 

 described, but the vahdity of most of these seems questionable, and even the 

 genus itself is by some considered unworthy of recognition. 



The Museum has lately acquired seven specimens, four skins with skulls 

 and three alcoholics, which together with a mounted skin purchased many years 

 ago, and a mounted skeleton kindly loaned by the United States national 

 museum, appear to constitute all the available material in America. On the 

 basis of this material I have prepared the following review of the history and 

 characters of this interesting monotreme. 



HISTORY AND NO:\IENCLATURE. 



Peters and Doria (1876) based their original description of the Proechidna 

 on a cranium from Mt. Arfak, northern New Guinea. It lacked a large part of 

 the posterior end as well as the lower jaw, but from its strikingly long and curved 

 rostrum as compared with that of the AustraUan Echidna, they considered it a 

 new species and named it Tachyglossus bruijnii. In the Annual record of 

 science and industry for 1876, p. clxxi, pubUshed about May 5, 1877, Gill called 

 attention to this new and remarkable animal and proposed for it the generic 

 name Zaglossus (see Palmer, 1895). Gervais, in November, 1877, unaware of 

 Gill's paper, likewise considered it generically distinct from Tachyglossus and 

 named it Acanthoglossus, which he shortly discovered was preoccupied by 

 Acanthoglossa for a genus of insects. He accordingly renamed it Proechidna, 

 under which title it has become generally known. Indeed the name is so well 

 estabUshed that it seems best to retain it in a vernacular sense, as well as the 



