ORNITHORYNCUIDJJ. ii'J3 



Suborder III. MONOTREMATA. 



Pelvis witli marsupial bones. Tongue elongate. Pace like 

 a beak. Insectivorous. 



Monotrema, Geoff. 

 Reptantia, llliger. 



Fam. 8. ORNITHORYNCHIDtE. 



Body covered with haii' or spines. Mouth in the form of a flat, 

 depressed, or slender beak, subcylindrical. Hind feet of the male 

 spurred. Skeleton with marsupial bone, and a merrythought (/'■"'- 

 cula) like that of birds. 



Ornithorliyuchidc-e, Gray, P. Z. 8. 18G5, p. 385. 



S[inopsis of ihe Genera. 



1. Platypus. Head depressed. Body covered with fui'. Feet ex- 



panded, webbed. 



2. Echidna. Head slender, conical, tapering. Body covered with 



spines. Feet with long claws. 



1. PLATYPUS. 



Beak depressed. Body covered with hair. Tail broad, short, 

 depressed. Feet very short. Toes 5.5; front toes united by a 

 web. Hind feet with an acute spm- on the inner side. 



Platypus, S/iair, Viv. Nat. 179!> ; Graij, P. Z. S. 186."), p. 385. 

 Ornithorhynchus, Blumeribach, Handh. p. 135, 1800. 

 Ornitliorhynque, Cxv. Oss. Foss. t. 14. 

 Demipus, Wiedcm. Zool. Arch, i, p. 175. 



Platypus anatinus. 



Platypus anatinus, Shan; N'af. 3Ii.sc. t. 385 ; Gen. Zool. i. p. 229, t. 66, 



67, 1799; Gerrard, Cat. Bones B.M. p. 288 ; Grai/,P. Z. S. 1865, 



p. 385. 

 Demipus anatinus, Wtedm. Zool. Arch. i. p. 175, t. 

 Omithorhj-ncluis paradoxus, Blumoib. Handb. ed. 10, p. 135 ; Abbild. 



i. 41, 1800; Home, Phil. Trans. 1802, p. 87. 

 Omithcirln luhus anatiuus, Goidd, Mamm. Austr. i. t. 1. 

 Omithmliynchus brevirostiis, Or/ilbii, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 150. 

 OrnithorliyuL'hus rufus, Leach, Zool. Mine. p. 136. 

 Ornithorhynchus fuscus, Leaeh, Zool. Misc. ii. p. 136, t. 111. 

 Omithorliynchus crispus et O. la;vis, Macgillivray, Mem. Tfe/vi. Soc. 



v. p. 127. 

 IHick-billed Platypus, Shaw. 

 Omithorhynque, Cuv. Os.s. Foss. v. p. 143, t. 14 (skeleton). 



JIab. South-eastern Australia and Van Diemen's Land. 



2d 



