220 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



slight tear in the palm ; the pain was intense, almost 

 paralysing the sufferer, and causing him to feel faint, 

 so that it was half an hour before he could stand 

 unaided. The arm swelled up to the shoulder, and 

 the pain in the hand continued very severe. The 

 wounds themselves healed up quickly ; but a week 

 afterwards the hand was still very tender, though 

 the swelling had subsided. The patient gradually 

 improved ; the duckbill got away after all ! 



The flattened beak of the duckbill forms a very 

 efficient trowel ; it is covered with sensitive skin 

 and crowded with minute tactile organs. Perhaps 

 the hilt-like fold at the base of the beak protects the 

 eyes by preventing the instrument from being thrust 

 too deeply into the mud when feeding. The under- 

 surface of the bill is very beautiful translucent pink, 

 showing a congeries of delicate bloodvessels. These 

 animals have very capacious cheek-pouches ; in 

 young individuals a few molar teeth occur in each 

 jaw. The teeth are evanescent, however, being 

 replaced later by two pairs of horny plates ; of these 

 cornules the anterior is sharp and narrow, the 

 posterior flat and expanded. The palate is ribbed 

 like a duck's ; the small tongue cannot be protruded 

 from the mouth, in marked contrast to the taper 

 organ of the related echidna. 



The duckbill inhabits Southern and Eastern 

 Australia, as far as the i8th degree of south 

 latitude, and Tasmania. It is aquatic and nocturnal, 



