VERTEBRATES I MAMMALS. 



Fig. 85 C. 



Wombat, Ph. ursinus, Cuv. 



Skull of Wombat. 



species are known, varying from the size of a hare to that 

 of a deer, or larger. 



PHASCOLOMYID/E, OR WOMBAT FAMILY. This Fam- 

 ily comprises 

 animals hav- 

 ing large, flat 

 heads, short 

 legs, and a 

 body that ap- 

 pears as if crushed, and without a tail. They have two 

 incisors in each jaw, similar to those of Rodents, and each 

 of their grinders has two transverse ridges. They are 

 sluggish, feed upon grass, and burrow in the ground. 

 The Wombat is of the size of a badger, and both this 

 and Lipurus, a closely related genus, live in Australia. 



SUB-SECTION XL 



THE ORDER OF MONOTREMATA, OR DUCKBILLS. 



THIS Order is made up of animals whose structure i:i 

 some respects is much like that of birds. They have no 

 teeth, and no external ears. They belong to Australia. 



PLATYPUS, OR DUCKBILL FAMILY. This Family in- 

 cludes all the members of the order. 



The Genus Echidna comprises those which have a 

 long, slender muzzle and extensible tongue, like the Ant- 

 eaters, and which are covered with spines. 



The Genus Ornithorhynchus^ or Platypus, is character- 

 ized by an elongated, enlarged, and flat muzzle, present- 

 ing the closest external resemblance to the bill of a 

 duck, and the more so as its edges are similarly furnished 

 with small transverse laminae. These animals have no 

 teeth except at the bottom of the mouth, and these are 

 without roots, with flat crowns, and composed of little 

 vertical tubes. There is a membrane to the fore feet 



