THE DUCK MOLE. 



WE ARE indebted to Dr. George 

 Bennett for the first good de- 

 scription of the duck mole 

 {Ornithorhynchus anatimis) 

 which was an object of wonder to nat- 

 urahsts long after its discovery. This 

 enthusiastic investigator traveled to Aus- 

 tralia for the sole purpose of observing 

 the animal. Up to that time little was 

 known of it. We simply knew that the 

 duck mole lives in the water and was 

 persistently hunted by the natives as it 

 yielded a savory flesh and laid eggs. 

 The latter discovery was made by Cald- 

 well in 1884. 



The duck mole is about two feet in 

 length, six inches of which are included 

 in the tail. The males are larger than 

 the females. The legs are very small, all 

 four being five-toed and webbed. All 

 the toes are very strong, blunt, and ex- 

 cellently adapted for digging. The 

 middle toes are the longest. The tail is 

 flat and is broad at the end, the ex- 

 tremity being formed by long hairs. It 

 is abruptly cut off, and in old animals is 

 either entirely naked beneath or covered 

 with a few coarse hairs. In young ani- 

 mals it is quite hairy. The adult animal 

 has only four horny teeth in its two jaws, 

 of which the upper front tooth is broad 

 and flat and resembles a grinder. 



The fur of the duck mole consists of 

 a coarse outer coat of a dark brown color 

 with a silvery-white surface tinge, and a 



very soft, grayish inner fur, similar to 

 that of the seal and the otter. A pe- 

 culiar fish-like odor is given forth by 

 the fur, especially when it is wet. The 

 Australians, however, are very fond of 

 the flesh of the animal in spite of its dis- 

 gusting odor. The duck mole is said 

 to be fondest of calm spots in rivers 

 filled with aquatic plants and the banks 

 of which are shaded by the dense foliage 

 of trees ; and it constructs more or less 

 complicated burrows in the banks. A 

 tunnel about eighteen feet long ter- 

 minates in a large chamber, both the 

 chamber and its approaches being strewn 

 with dry aquatic plants. The chamber 

 usually has two entrances, one below 

 the surface of the water and the other 

 about twelve inches above. 



The duck moles are seen at all times 

 in the rivers of Australia, especially dur- 

 ing the spring and summer. They 

 emerge from their retreats at dusk, 

 though they sometimes also appear in 

 the day time, searching for food. When 

 the w^ater is clear, the observer can fol- 

 low with the eye the movements of the 

 animal as it dives and reappears above 

 the surface. It likes to stay near the 

 shore, amidst the mud searching for its 

 food between the roots of the plants, 

 where insects abound. The moUusks 

 which it captures in its forays it stores 

 temporarily in its cheek pouches and then 

 consumes them at greater leisure. 



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