THE DUCKBILL 



455 



FORE FOOT OF THE 

 DUCKBILL. 



first brought to England it was viewed as a fraud, the work 

 of a jocular taxidermist, whose humour has been known to 

 produce an excellent mermaid out of the skin of a monkey 

 and the tail of a salmon. 



Reference to the illustration will render any minute 

 description unnecessary. The body, ovate and depressed, 

 and without any real neck, is clothed with short, dense fur, 

 not unlike that of the otter in its 

 colour and texture. The tail is short 

 and flattened, and reminds one of 

 that of the beaver, except that it is 

 not naked and scaly, nor is it used 

 for any other purpose than that of 

 a helm. The webbing of the fore 

 feet extends beyond the extremity 

 of the claws. The Duckbill is as 

 lithe of body as a cat. The 



skin, too, is so loose that when one is shot its bones 

 will be broken, though none of the shots penetrate the 

 skin. 



The so-called beak is a prolongation of the bones of the 

 face, but the result not only resembles 

 the bill of a duck, but it performs a 

 similar office in grubbing in mud in 

 search of food. To protect the eyes 

 it is fitted with a shield-like structure 

 at the base. The animal possesses no 

 true teeth, only flat, horny plates, which 

 are quite sufficient to grind up the 

 molluscs, worms, and insects which 

 are extracted from the muddy beds. 

 As it catches its food it stows it away 

 in its capacious cheek-pouches. 



The Platypus is shy and retiring and strictly nocturnal in 

 habit. Its burrow, thirty to fifty feet in length, always con- 

 tains two entrances one under water and the other usually 

 in a thicket at some distance from the water's edge. The 

 difficulties of watching such an animal are very great, and 

 for many years it was a puzzle to naturalists. It was not 

 until 1884 that it was proved to lay eggs, two of which are 



