HAIRS OF MONOTREMES AND MARSUPIALS. 



553 



rhynchus, one (or very rarely two) large hairs usually 

 emerging from a common follicular opening together with a 

 relatively small number of small hairs (figs. 4, 5). The exact 

 arrangement varies, however, in different parts of the body. 

 On the back, wliere the spines are strongly developed, each of 

 these issues from its own follicle and is not associated with 

 small hairs. Amongst these spines is, however, a strong 

 development of small distinctly wavy hairs arranged in groups 

 of from eight to ten in number. There may sometimes, 

 especially on the dorso-lateral aspects of the body, be a large 

 hair associated with these groups, but most often there is not. 

 In the mammary region also the large hair is apparently 

 wanting (fig. 6). The following table gives the number of 

 large and small hairs present in the bundles from diff'erent 

 parts of the body of a large adult female Echidna from 

 Tasmania. 



Centre of Mammary Area. 



Bundle 1. — 4 small, no large. 

 ,. 2.-5 „ „ „ 

 >j "• 5 ») >> >) 

 » *• — 5 ,, „ ,, 

 >f 5. 5 ,, ,, ,, 

 „ 6.-4 „ „ „ 



In connection with the numbers now given it must be 

 remembered that (1) there is very great variation in the hairs 

 of various specimens from diff'ereut localities such as Tasmania, 

 Victoria, Queensland, and Central Australia, and (2) it is very 

 likely indeed that both in different individuals and at different 



