234 LLOYD’S NATURAL HISTORY. 
preferable to discard the Anglicised term Duck-billed Platypus 
in favour of the simpler Duck-bill or Duck-Mole. 
When the first stuffed example of this extraordinary animal 
reached Europe, it was boldly asserted that the specimen was a 
fraud, made up of a Duck’s bill affixed to the skin of some 
large Mole-like creature. When, however, other examples were 
received, and it became certain that the Duck-bill was a gen- 
uine animal, the most unbounded curiosity and interest were 
aroused by such a strange creature. Curiously enough, it was 
then regarded as a connecting link between Mammals and the 
lower Vertebrates ; the main ground for this view being the Duck- 
like beak, which, of course, is a mere specialised peculiarity 
of the animal, and has nothing whatever to do with its many 
bird-like and reptilian features. The long period that elapsed 
before the Duck-bill was definitely proved to lay eggs, and the 
still longer time that elapsed between the date of its first 
description and the discovery that in the earlier stages of its 
existence the creature possessed true teeth, have been already 
alluded to. 
In spite of the circumstance that he was unable to discover 
its real mode of reproduction, the best account that we possess of 
the habits of the Duck-bill is that one published by Dr. George 
Bennett, from observations made during the years 1829-1832 
in Australia, from which the following extracts are taken :— 
After stating that in certain parts of Australia the creature is _ 
known to the aborigines by the names of Mallangong, or Tam- 
brit, the author proceeds to state that its favourite haunts are 
those tranquil portions of the rivers termed “ ponds” by the 
colonists, on the surface of which various aquatic plants 
spread their leaves in profusion. Among these plants the 
Duck-bills may be seen by the cautious observer seeking their 
food; while the shaded banks afford them excellent situations 
for the construction of their burrows. ‘In such circumstances 
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