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MR.  G.  BENNETT  ON  THE  HISTORY  AND  HABITS  OF 
this  specimen  appear  different  from  all  the  others  that  I  had  seen  ;  but  in  other  respects 
it  was  similar  to  them.  A  female  shot  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  and  in  the 
same  part  of  the  river,  measured  only  1  foot  4  inches,  as  follows  : 
Female  specimen  shot  in  the  Murrumbidgee  River. 
Ft.  In. 
Length  from  the  extremity  of  the  mandible  to  that  of  the  tail  ...  1  4 
Length  of  the  upper  mandible   2 
Breadth  of  the  upper  mandible   1-f 
Breadth  across  the  back   4 
Length  of  the  tail                                                                   .  4-|- 
Breadth  of  the  tail   2^ 
Expansion  of  the  web  of  the  fore  feet   S-i- 
On  the  I7th  of  September  1832  I  took  my  departure  from  Raby  Farm  in  company 
with  Mr.  Henry  O'Brien,  who  was  proceeding  to  his  farm  in  the  Yas  country.  Having 
made  a  very  interesting  journey  through  the  Bathurst  country,  we  arrived,  on  the  4th 
of  October,  at  Mundoona,  the  estate  of  Mr.  James  Rose,  near  Yas  Plains  in  the 
Murray  County.  It  was  at  this  place  that  I  had  determined  to  commence  my  investi- 
gations of  the  Ornithorhynchus,  as  a  portion  of  the  Yas  River  ran  through  the  estate, 
in  which  these  animals  were  to  be  found  in  great  numbers. 
We  arrived  at  the  Farm  at  5  p.m.  ;  and  as  the  river  was  but  a  very  short  distance 
from  the  dwelhng-house  and  I  was  eager  to  have  even  a  distant  view  of  the  animal  in 
a  living  state,  I  readily  acceded  to  an  offer  to  walk  on  the  banks  whilst  refreshment 
was  preparing  for  us  after  our  long  journey,  and  ascertain  if  one  could  be  procured 
that  evening.  We  soon  came  to  a  tranquil  part  of  the  river,  such  as  the  colonists  call 
a  "pond,"  on  the  surface  of  which  numerous  aquatic  plants  grew.  It  is  in  places 
of  this  description  that  the  Water-Moles  are  most  commonly  seen,  seeking  their  food 
among  the  aquatic  plants,  whilst  the  steep  and  shaded  banks  afford  them  excellent 
situations  for  excavating  their  burrows.  We  remained  stationary  on  the  banks,  with 
gun  in  rest,  waiting  their  appearance  with  some  degree  of  patience ;  and  it  was  not 
long  before  my  companion  quietly  directed  my  attention  to  one  of  these  animals 
paddling  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  not  far  distant  from  the  bank  on  which  we  were 
then  standing.  In  such  circumstances  they  may  be  readily  recognised  by  their  dark 
bodies  just  seen  level  with  the  surface,  above  which  the  head  is  shghtly  raised,  and  by 
the  circles  made  in  the  water  around  them  by  their  paddling  action.  On  seeing  them 
the  spectator  must  remain  perfectly  stationary,  as  the  slightest  noise  or  movement  of 
his  body  would  cause  their  instant  disappearance,  so  acute  are  they  in  sight  or  hear- 
ing, or  perhaps  in  both  ;  and  they  seldom  reappear  when  they  have  been  frightened. 
By  remaining  perfectly  quiet  when  the  animal  is  "up,"  the  spectator  is  enabled  to 
obtaiti  an  excellent  view  of  its  movements  on  the  water  ;  it  seldom,  however,  remains 
