384 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



A distinguishing feature which the male platypus shares in common with the echidna is 

 the peculiar spur developed on its hind foot. It is in this case, however, much larger and 

 sharper, and has been accredited with aggressive functions and poisonous properties. There can 

 be little doubt, however, that they are normally used by the animal only as clasping or retaining 

 instruments during intercourse with the female at the breeding-season. At the same time, 

 undoubted cases of persons receiving severe wounds from these animals' spurs have been placed 

 on record. One such that fell within the writer's cognisance happened on the Murray River, 

 on the Victorian and New South Wales boundary. A young fisher-lad, on taking up his nets, 

 found a half-drowned platypus entangled in them, and, whilst disengaging it, it convulsively 



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:.-, F.Z.S. 



DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS 



This curious egg-laying mammal, the only representative of its family, is mainly nocturnal in habits 



gripped his hand between the two spurs, the points penetrating deeply into the flesh on either 

 side. The result was a festering wound that refused to heal for many months, and for such 

 time entirely deprived the lad of his use of that hand. 



The fur of the platypus, dressed so as to remove the outer and longer series of hairs, 

 nearly resembles that of the fur-seal in both colour and texture, and as a rare local product is 

 highly prized for the manufacture of carriage-rugs and other articles. 



WlTH the egg-laying Echidna and Platypus we terminate the Mammalian Series, and they 

 pave the way to the typical egg-laying animals which follow. 



