134 VERTEBRATA. MAMMALIA. 



across the floor of the cage, to prevent the animal 

 from slipping about when the ship is unsteady." 



Some naturalists have described a second species, 

 by the name of E. Setosa, chiefly distinguished by 

 the fewness and shortness of the spines, which are 

 imbedded in a dense fur : but whether it is really 

 distinct, is uncertain. 



Ornithorhynchus, the Duck-bill. 



THE DUCK-BILL (Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus). 



Still more singular and anomalous than the last, 

 this little animal may well be esteemed the greatest 

 of those treasures with which Australia has enriched 

 zoology. From the apparent contradictions united 

 in its formation, the first species of the genus de- 

 scribed, (and the only one absolutely ascertained,) 

 received the name Or. Paradoxus. It is nearly two 



