2 
HALL 19 
MAMMALS. 
Case l . — Four representatives of the lowest sub-class of 
mammals, the Prototheria. Of these the most interesting is the 
duck-bill ( Ornithorhynchus ). It is so called on account of its 
duck-like beak. It is a native of Australia. It is aquatic in its 
habits and swims with facility. Although a true mammal, the 
remarkable fact has been discovered that it lays eggs instead of 
producing living young. The Echidnas , or spiny ant-eaters, are 
inhabitants of New Guinea, Tasmania and Australia. 
Case 2.— Members of the second sub-class of mammals, 
the Metatheria , order Marsiipialia . These comprise the phal- 
angers, the bandicoots, the kangaroos, the dasyures, all inhabit- 
ants of Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, and the opossums, 
dwellers in the Americas. They present many strange and inter- 
esting forms of life. The phalangers usually live in trees and have 
prehensile tails. Some species subsist on vegetation, others on 
insects. The “flying phalangers” resemble our flying squirrels 
in having a fold of skin which acts as a parachute. The bandicoots 
{Perameles) burrow in the earth and subsist on roots and grain. 
The kangaroos are grass-eating animals. The dasyures are de- 
vourers of flesh. One species ( Dasyurus ursinus) has earned the 
name of “ Tasmanian devil.” All the other mammals belong to 
the sub-class Entheria. 
Case 3.— Contains Edentates ( Bruta ). These occupy also 
a part of Case 2. Among the Edentates shown are armadillos, 
the strangely armored pichiciago from Argentine Republic, two 
species of sloth, several species of ant-eaters and two species of 
scaly ant-eaters, or pangolins, from Africa. The armadillos have 
most of the skin converted into an armour of bony plates. They 
live on roots, insects, reptiles and carrion. They are able to bur- 
row with astonishing rapidity. The pichiciago is a very rare bur- 
rowing animal. The great ant-eater lives on white ants, whose 
dwellings it tears open with its strong claws. The pangolins 
( Mauis ) have the body covered with overlapping homy plates. 
They subsist on ants. 
