OF THE ORNITHORHYNCHUS PARADOXUS. 
533 
against the flattened cartilages of the ribs and the marsupial bones, and occa- 
sion the expulsion of the secreted fluid ; while the great extent and the yield- 
ing texture of the gland seem peculiarly to adapt it to be so influenced. In 
this case the mouth of the young animal need only be applied to the areola 
to receive the secretion ; and it is particularly worthy of remark, that the great 
distinction between the mandibles of the Ornithorhynchus and those of the Bird 
consists in the former being, even in the adult state, surpassed by thick, soft, 
muscular, extremely sensible and flexible lips. 
Appendix. 
Whilst the preceding account was going through the press, the following 
interesting communication was made by Dr. Weatherhead to the Committee 
of Science of the Zoological Society. 
After stating that he had received a letter from his friend Lieutenant the 
Hon. Lauderdale Maule of the 39th Regiment, at present in New South 
Wales, informing him of his having forwarded, among other curious objects 
of natural history, the carcases of the female Ornithorhynchus and her young, 
he proceeds to give the following extracts from Lieutenant Maule’s letter : — 
“ £ Several of their (the Ornithorhynchuses’) nests were with considerable labour 
and difficulty discovered. No eggs were found in a perfect state, but pieces 
of substance resembling egg-shell were picked out of the debris of the nest. 
In the insides of several female Platypi which were shot, eggs were found of 
the size of a large musket-ball and downwards, imperfectly formed however, 
i. e. without the hard outer shell, which prevented their preservation. Several 
young Platypi were obtained and put into spirits, in which state they are for- 
warded.’ 
“ In another part of his letter Mr. Maule states, that in one of the nests he 
was fortunate enough to secure an old female and two young. The female 
lived for about two weeks on worms and bread and milk, being abundantly 
supplied with water, and supported her young, as it was supposed, by similar 
means. She was killed by an accident on the fourteenth day after her cap- 
3 z 
MDCCCXXXII. 
