DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS. 231 



inch distant from each other. There is no ap- 

 pearance of teeth : the palate is removed, but 

 seems to have resembled that of a duck: the 

 tongue also is wanting in the specimen. The ears 

 or auditory foramina are placed about an inch be- 

 yond the eyes : they appear like a pair of oval 

 holes of the eighth of an inch in diameter; there 

 being no external ear. On the upper part of the 

 head, on each side, a little beyond the beak, are 

 situated two smallish oval white spots ; in the lower 

 part of each of which are imbedded the eyes, or 

 at least the parts allotted to the animal for some 

 kind of vision ; for from the thickness of the fur 

 and the smallness of the organs they seem to have 

 been but obscurely calculated for distinct vision, 

 and are probably like those of Moles, and some 

 other animals of that tribe ; or perhaps even sub- 

 cutaneous ; the whole apparent diameter of the ca- 

 vity in which they were placed not exceeding the 

 tenth of an inch. 



When we consider the general form of this ani- 

 mal, and particularly its bill and webbed feet, we 

 shall readily perceive that it must be a resident in 

 w r atery situations ; that it has the habits of digging 

 or burrowing in the banks of rivers, or under 

 ground ; and that its food consists of aquatic plants 

 and animals. This is all that can at present be 

 reasonably guessed at: future observations, made 

 in its native regions, will, it is hoped, afford us 

 more ample information, and will make us fully 

 acquainted with the natural history of an animal 

 which differs so widely from all other quadrupeds^ 



