96 



ON SOME POINTS OF INTEREST CONNECTED WITH 

 THE PLATYPUS. 



By Arthur Bingham Crowther, M.E.C.S. Eng., L.R.C.P. 



LOND. 



(Read 14th October, 1880.) 

 In bringing before your attention, tliis evening, the above- 

 named subject, I regret I am able to introduce so little 

 orio-inal material connected with these very interesting and 

 anomalous animals. After reading Professor Bennett's work 

 on their peculiarities and habits, also Professor Owen's on 

 their anatomical structure and mode of reproduction, but 

 little ground is left to be worked over, so completely have 

 these two great authors gone into the subject. In relating 

 my own individual experience this evening of these animals, 

 it is more with the hope of leading to a discussion, than 

 adding much fresh material to an already exhausted, but 

 always interesting subject. After careful perusal of Owen's 

 work, the point alone left for elucidation is the actual birth 

 of the foetus ; but when I can tell you that the foetus has 

 been found in utero, and in a hairless condition in the 

 burrow, our imagination easily fills up the gap. (The former 

 of these startling facts I hope to demonstrate • to this Society 

 soon). That the platypus can be kept alive was proved by 

 Professor Bennett, who had them for six weeks ; but from the 

 nature of the food he gave tliem I should be tempted to 

 conclude that (Hke the pig entombed by the falling of a cliff 

 at Dover) it had lived for a considerable time from its own 

 fat, approaching in fact a hybernating animal It is also 

 mentioned in a G-erman encyclopaedia that these animals were 

 taken to Europe after 1798, but we are not quite 

 sure of its accuracy. My keeping one three months in 

 captivity proves that could we but obtain the food they live 

 on in a natural state, there would be no material difficulty 

 in keeping them. The one mentioned grew rapidly, being 

 but half grown when first procured ; when he died he was 

 full grown. His death was due, I beheve, to an abscess 

 connected with an accidental injury. Relative to their food, 

 I have taken from the cheek pouches of freshly shot ones, fresh- 

 water shrimps, water fleas, and beetles (the latter having a 

 hard black epidermis) ; mine in captivity were given a 

 limited quantity of worms, and salt-water fish. The former 

 were taken in large quantity so greedily from the first that 



