THE DUCK-BILLED VLATYPUS. 23? 



General description. 



The length of this curious animal from the tip 

 of the beak to the end of the tail is thirteen 

 inches, of which the beak occupies one inch and 

 a half. The head is rather small, and the mouth 

 bears so near a resemblance to the beak of some 

 broad-billed ducks, that it is not without minute 

 examination that we can persuade ourselves of its 

 being the real snout of a quadruped. The body 

 is depressed, and is somewhat like that of an otter 

 in miniature: it is covered with a thick soft fur, 

 of a moderately dark brown above, and whit- 

 ish beneath. The legs are very short, and ter- 

 minate in a broad web, which extends to a 

 considerable distance beyond the claws: on the 

 fore feet are five claws, straight, strong, and 

 sharp pointed; and on the hind feet are six 

 curved ones ; the interior of which is seated much 

 higher than the rest, and resembles a strong 

 sharp spur. 



The specimens of this animal hitherto sent to 

 England, have been deprived of their intestines, 

 and for the most part ill preserved. Mr. Home, 

 however, examined one belonging to Sir Joseph 

 Banks, which had been kept in spirits, and was 

 tolerably perfect. He discovered that although 

 the beak, when cursorily examined, had such a 

 striking resemblance to that of the duck, as to 

 induce a supposition that it was calculated for 

 the very same purposes; yet when all its parts 

 were carefully examined, it evidently differed in 

 a variety of circumstances. This it appears is 



