THE PLATYPUS. 403 



other particulars of the beak of a shoveller, or 

 other broad-billed species of duck, presenting 

 themselves to the view ; nor is it without the most 

 minute and rigid examination, that we can per- 

 suade ourselves of its being the real beak or snout 

 of a quadruped. 



" The body is depressed, and has some resem- 

 blance to that of an otter in miniature ; it is co- 

 vered with a very thick, soft, and beaver-like fur, 

 and is of a moderately dark brown above, and 

 of a sub-ferruginous white beneath. The head 

 is flattish, and rather small than large ; the mouth 

 or snout, as before observed, so exactly resem- 

 bles that of some broad-billed species of duck, 

 that it might be mistaken for such ; round the 

 base is a flat circular membrane, somewhat deep- 

 er or wider below than above ; viz. below, near 

 the fifth of an inch, and above, about an eighth. 

 The tail is flat, furry like the body, rather short 

 and obtuse, with an almost bifid termination ; it 

 is broader at the base, and gradually lessens to 

 the tip, and is about three inches in length ; its 

 colour is similar to that of the body. The length 

 of the whole animal, from the tip of the beak to 

 that of the tail, is thirteen inches ; of the beak, 

 an inch and half. The legs are very short, ter- 

 minating in a broad web, which on the fore-feet 

 extends to a considerable distance beyond the 

 claws, but on the hind-feet reaches no farther 

 than the roots of the claws. On the fore-feet are 

 five claws, straight, strong, and sharp-pointed; 

 the two exterior ones somewhat shorter than the 

 three middle ones. On the hind-feet are six 



