FAMILY M ONOTREMATA. WITH A SINGLE VENT. 



43 



2. MANIS. No teeth ; head but little larger than the neck ; muzzle long 

 and attenuated, with the nostril slightly prominent ; mouth small, ter- 

 minal ; tongue roundish, very long, and projectile ; eyes small ; external 

 ears or auricles none ; body covered with imbricated, scaly, osseous plates, 

 having a few hairs interspersed among them ; tail of moderate size, or very 

 long, as large as the root of the neck at its base, slightly arched above and 

 flat beneath ; teats on the chest distinct ; fore feet five-toed, hind feet four 

 or five toed, the toes furnished with strong, curved claws. 



3. ORYCTEEOPUS (Gr. opvaaw, I dig, and wovf, a foot). Head very 

 long and nose taper ; molar teeth six on a side in each jaw ; tongue 

 extensile ; ears very long and pointed ; fore feet four-toed, hind feet plan- 

 tigrade and five-toed, all furnished with very strong claws nearly resem- 

 bling hoofs, and fit for digging ; tail long and rounded ; skin very tough, 

 similar to that of the Pachydermata, and covered with a few coarse hairs. 



MYEMECOPHAGIDA. DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES. 



MYRMECOPHAGA Ant-eater. The Ant-eaters are remarkable for the 

 extremely small size of their mouth, and the total absence of teeth ; their 

 tongue is covered with a quantity of stiflf, glutinous secretion, and when 

 thrust into an Ant's nest, these animals become entangled in it, and the 

 organ is then retracted into the Ant-eater's mouth. Their claws are well 

 adapted for tearing up the ground or covering of the nests which they seek 

 to rob ; but in walking, they are folded into the soles of the feet against 

 a large callosity, and the animal does not walk on the sole, but on the out- 

 side of the foot. Their motions are very slow ; some of them live entirely 

 on the ground, whilst others climb trees. They bring only a single young 

 one at a birth, which they carry about on their backs. They are found 

 only in America. 



One of the species (M. Jubata), the Great Ant-eater, is represented on 

 Plate 14. This animal measures from the nose to the root of the tail four 

 feet, the tail itself is three feet. The eyes are rather small, deep set, and 

 the lids not furnished with lashes ; the ears small and round ; the hair on 

 the head very short. Tail round, covered with very large and crisp hairs 

 from twelve to eighteen inches in length, and falling vertically on either 

 side like a plume of feathers. The general colour of the head is grey and 

 brown ; of the upper part of the body and tail brown mingled with dingy 

 white ; chest and belly deep brown, inclining to black ; the fore legs dingy 

 grey; hind legs nearly black. Its only means of defence consist in 

 hugging its enemy, for which purpose, when attacked, it prepares for the 

 combat by sitting up on its haunches. Like the Sloth, when it has once 

 laid hold of its opponent, it fastens its long claws into it, and retains it till 

 life is extinct; and in this way it is said to be a match even for the 

 very Panthers of America. The flesh of this Ant-eater, although having a 

 strong taste, is eaten by the Indians. 



Other species the Middle Ant-eater, a foot long ; the Black Ant-eater, 

 and the Double-striped Ant-eater, about the same size ; the Lest Ant-eater, 

 and the Hinged Ant-eater, about the size of a Rat. 



MANIS Pangolin. The Pangolins live in burrows ; they feed on worms 

 and insects, principally on the termites and ants ; they are weak and 

 defenceless, so far as offensive weapons are concerned, but Nature has pro- 

 vided them with a coat of mail which protects them from injury ; and 

 when attacked they coil themselves up into a ball, like the common Hedge- 

 hog, and present a bristly surface, with which few animals are disposed to 

 meddle. They are found in Asia and Africa. 



The Long-tailed Pangolin (M. Tetradactyla) is from two to three feet in 

 length ; the tail double the length of the body, and flattened ; the head 

 covered with small scales ; those on the body brown, larger, and their 

 edges carinated, placed in eleven longitudinal rows ; the under parts 

 covered with short, rough, blackish-brown hairs: claws brown ; the fore 

 feet have five, the hind feet only four toes. Native of Senegal. 

 (Plate 14). 



The Short-tailed Pangolin (M. Pentedactyla), a native of the East 

 Indies, is about thirty-four inches long; and the Jaman Pangolin, found in 

 Java, measures thirty inches in length. 



ORYCTEKOPUS. This genus, on account of its food, was long confounded 

 with the Ant-eaters, from which, however, it differs remarkably in having 

 molar teeth, and in its nails being flat instead of sharp and cutting. There 

 is but one species, the Ground Hog of the Cape Colonists (O. Capensis), 

 which is about four feet; the tail is two feet long and tapering towards its 

 tip ; in shape it has been compared to the Hog, but the resemblance is 

 not very close. They are much sought for as food by the Hottentots ; but 

 Le Vaillant says, that the flesh has a disagreeable taste, and smells 

 strongly of formic acid. Is found in the neighbourhood of the Cnpe of 

 Good Hope. 



Family WITH A SINGLE VENT ; Monotremata. 



Genera. 



Common Name. 



Speciei. 



Echidna ----- Hystrix - - - - Spiny Echidna. 

 Ornithorhynchus - - Paradoxus - - - Rufous Ornithorhynque. 



The genus Pamphractus is also of this family. 



CHARACTERS OF THE GENERA. 



1. ECHIDNA. Snout or bill elongated, and terminating in a small mouth, 

 provided with a long extensible tongue ; teeth horny, and placed on the 

 tongue and palate ; feet short, five-toed, with very long stout curved claws, 

 fit for burrowing ; body covered with spines. 



2. ORNITHORHYNCHUS. Muzzle much elongated in form of a duck's beak, 

 covered with horn, which increasing in thickness at the base, forms a kind 

 of collar about the forehead and chin ; true teeth none, but in their stead 

 resting on the gums, but not implanted in the jaws, some flattened, 

 quadrilateral, fibrocorneous substances, four in each jaw ; head small and 

 round; eyes small; no external ears; nostrils round, very close to each 

 other ; tongue large, broad, soft, fleshy, its edges furnished with tolerably 

 large and black horny papillae ; cheek pouches ; body nearly cylindrical ; 

 tail short, very wide, and flattened; legs very short and far apart; feet 

 five-toed, flat^nails, and enveloped in a very wide membrane, which extends 

 beyond the ends of the toes, forming a broad paddle with an irregular edge, 

 hind toes connected only as far as the nails ; on the inner hinder part of 

 the heel a strong, pointed hollow spur, connected with a poison-bag. 



3. PAMPHRACTUS (Gr. irac, all, and <j>pa.Krof, armed). Maxillary teeth 

 sharp ; head narrower than the neck ; snout lengthened and sharp ; eyes 

 small ; auricles none ; body and legs covered above with imbricated scales, 

 naked beneath ; tail of moderate length and scaly. 



MONOTREMATA. DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIES. 



ECHIDNA. This is one of the remarkable genera which have hitherto 

 been discovered in New South Wales only, and which are provided with 

 organs not found in any other known animals. The Echidna probably 

 form the connecting link between the Myrmecophagos and Ornithorhynchi. 



The Spina Echidnce (E. Histrix), called also the Aadeated Ant-eater, is 

 about seventeen inches long, from the tip of the bill to the tail, and the 

 body of proportionable bulk ; the upper part is covered with short coarse 

 hair, from amongst which protrude numerous quills, similar to those of 

 the Porcupine, but shorter, and which seem arranged in rows. The fore 

 legs are short and thick ; the hind legs are longer and at the junction of 

 each hind leg with the foot is a small spur, slightly hooked. 



There is another species called the Hairy Echidnas (E. Setosa), which 

 differs but little from the foregoing. 



ORNITHORHYNCHUS. This curious genus was first brought into notice 

 by Blumenbach in 1803, and named by him from the remarkable form of 

 its muzzle. 



The poisoning apparatus of this animal consists of the spur, which is 

 situated on the inner and hinder part of the metatarsus of the male, and 

 connected with a poison-gland, placed immediately under the skin and 

 close to the hip-joint. The gland consists of numerous lesser glands con- 

 nected together, and forming a mass about an inch long and half an inch 

 wide ; from it passes a canal, which descends behind the thigh and leg, 



G 2 



