322 MONOTREMATA. 



having been kept alive in captivity for nearly five 

 weeks. 



The Ornithorhynclius was described by Shaw and 

 Blumenbach nearly at the same time ; Blumenbach's 

 account I have reason to believe appeared in 1800; 

 if so, Shaw has the priority, his first description having 

 appeared in the Naturalist's Miscellany, No. 118, 

 published in June 1799. Blumenbach's name, 

 Ornithorhpichus paradoxus, is, however, universally 

 adopted, and in all the interesting anatomical papers 

 on this animal this name is used ; under these cir- 

 cumstances it is not desirable to go back to what I 

 believe to be the older name Vlatypus anatinus — 

 especially as Platypus is used as a generic name 

 among insects. 



Those who wish to obtain more perfect information 

 relating to this most extraordinary animal, which in 

 many of its anatomical characters evinces a consider^ 

 able approach towards the class Reptilia, and is 

 certainly the lowest of the Mammalia yet discovered, 

 will do well to consult the following Memoirs. 



Home, On the anatomy of tlie OniithorhyncJius,in the Phil, Trans. 



1802, p. 67-84. 

 Meckel, Omithorhpichi paradoxi descripiio anatom. 

 De Blainville, Observations sur V ergot de V OrnitJiorhi/nque, in 



the Journal de Physique, &c. Ixxxiv, p. 318, See also a 



paper by the same author, Sur les Mamelles de V Ornithov' 



hynque, &.C., in the Nouveau Bulletin de la Socie'te Philo- 



matique, for 1826, p. 138, 

 Knox has published several papers on different parts of the 



Anatomy of the Ornithorhynchus in the Memoirs of the 



Wernerian Society, Vol. VI. 



