382 MONOTREMATA. 



MAMMALIA. MONOTBEMA TA. 



PLATYBUS. 



Ornithorhynchus anatimis . 

 French : Ondatras. 



This most singular of all animals is also called the 

 Duck-billed Platybus. It has the bill of a Duck per- 

 forated with two holes at the base for nostrils ; the fore 

 feet are webbed, and besides this deep web they are 

 furnished with five long nails ; the hind feet are webbed, 

 but in a less degree. The claws are longer and project 

 beyond the web. They are also furnished with a 

 longish spur like that of a game cock, but not so long ; 

 there is a small hollow duct running through the spur ; 

 by some this is said to contain poison. The tail is short 

 and bristly, but like the rest of the body. The fur is 

 short, dense, and silvery-brown ; the under fur is 

 extremely dense and fine, and blue in colour. It is the 

 richest of all under furs, excelling that of the Fur Seal. 

 The belly is lighter, almost white in some specimens. 

 There is a white mark round the eyes. Like all water 

 animals its pelt is thick, fur short. The Platybus has 

 no external ears. The vent is like that of a bird, and 

 its internal organisms are very similar. It lives in the 

 water and makes its holes in the bushes. It has been 

 said to lay eggs ; this, however, seems never to have 

 been proved. It probably, like the Echidna, produces 

 broken shells at the same time that the young are 

 born. 



The Platybus has no teeth, but their place is taken in 



