318 
PLATYPUS. 
eyes : they appear like a pair of oval holes of the 
eighth of an inch in diameter, there being no ex- 
ternal 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 subcutaneous ; the whole apparent 
diameter of the cavity in which they are placed not 
exceeding the tenth of an inch. 
Cf 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 
watery 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 ani- 
mals. 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 infor- 
mation, and will make us fully acquainted with the 
natural history of an animal which differs so widely 
from all other quadrupeds, and which verifies in a 
most striking manner the observation of Buffon, 
viz. that whatever was possible for nature to produce, 
has actually been produced. 
“ On a subject so extraordinary as the present, a 
degree of scepticism is not only pardonable, but 
