1877. ] PROF. OWEN ON ORNITHORHYNCHUS. 161 
1. Notes on Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. By Grorcr Fre- 
pERIC Bennert, in a Letter from Dr. Grorcr BENNETT, 
F.L.S., F.Z.S., to Professor Owrn, C.B., F.RB.S., &., 
with Remarks by the latter. 
[Received February 12, 1877.] 
At the conclusion of a paper ‘‘On the Ova of the Ornithorhyn- 
chus paradoxus,”’ in the ‘ Philosophical Transactions’ for 1834, I 
noted “the principal points in the generative economy of this animal 
which remained for determination” (p. 565). These points were 
again urged on the attention of observant naturalists in Australia, in 
the paper “On the Marsupial Pouches, Mammary Glands, and 
Foetus of the Echidna hystrix,” in the ‘ Philosophical Transac- 
tions’ for 1865, p. 682. 
The letter of December 2lst, 1876, with which I have been 
favoured by my esteemed friend Dr. George Bennett, and which 
T have now the pleasure to communicate to the Society, affords good 
eround to hope that, through the continuance of the researches of 
his son (results of which are appended to the letter), some at least 
of these points will shortly be determined. 
“Sydney, Dec, 21, 1876. 
“My pear Owen,—I have received from my son, Mr. G. F. 
Bennett, at Toowoomba, Queensland, the following notes he has 
made on the Ornithorhynchus. They give the results of his first 
attempt at exploring the burrows of these singular animals for the 
purpose of ascertaining their season of copulation and other impor- 
tant points, such as the manner of copulation, the period of gestation, 
the nature and succession of the temporary structures developed for 
the support of the foetus during gestation, the exact size, condition, 
and powers of the young at the time of their birth, the act of suckling, 
the period during which the young requires the lacteal nourishment, 
and the age at which the animal attains its full size. These queries 
were made by you some years ago ; and I have always responded that 
no reply could be given to them except by exploring the animals’ 
burrows, by aid of the aborigines, at different seasons of the year. 
This has now been commenced, and, if steadily followed up, will no 
doubt result in some interesting discoveries as to the generation of 
the Monotremata. 
“<I remain, my dear Owen, 
* Your sincere old friend, 
**GrorGE Bennett, M.D.” 
The notes are as follows :— 
“« Having heard that the Platypus was found very plentiful in the 
Lockyer Creek, which is an eastern water emptying itself into the 
Bremer river, I started on the 26th of October, 1876, with Mr. A. 
T. Blakiston, to a selection of his on the Lockyer, near Helidon, to 
Proc. Zoot. Soc.—1877, No. XI. 11 
