THE DUCKBILLED PLATYPUS 219 



webbed like a duck's ; the tail is broad, flat, and often 

 nearly bare underneath. The fur of this amazing 

 creature is dense, crisp, and woolly, with a scanty 

 admixture of longer hairs; it is often disreputably 

 ragged, especially on the underside of the tail. The 

 general colour of the duckbill is dull blackish brown ; 

 the eyes are brown, and are encircled by a ring of 

 whitish or yellowish fur. 



Male duckbills are armed on the heel with a 

 spur an inch long, moveable, and traversed by a 

 delicate canal which opens near the apex by a 

 longitudinal slit ; this spur seems to be no mere 

 ornament, being connected with a large spongy 

 gland at the back of the thigh ; young females 

 (though not adult ones) also carry a rudimentary 

 spur. The weapon is probably used by the animal 

 in fighting in the breeding season, but it appears 

 capable also of inflicting a wound on the human 

 skin, by means of a lateral and inward movement 

 of the hind legs. 1 Many years ago a fisher boy on 

 taking up some nets on the Murray River found an 

 unfortunate duckbill entangled in them ; the animal 

 grasped his hand convulsively with its hind feet, 

 inflicting a wound which persisted in festering for 

 many months. Again, a gentleman who recaptured 

 an escaped duckbill received a severe punctured 

 wound on the back of the hand, in addition to a 



1. It is said that a yellowish fluid (? poison) has been expressed from 

 the crural gland through the opening in the spur. 



