NATURAL HISTORY. 
SALOON.] 
21 
year. These animals inhabit the northern parts both of 
Europe and Asia, and are very abundant in Norway and 
Siberia. In the upper part of this Case are some large 
Bats {Fteroipi)^ from India and New Holland. 
Case 22 contains the small digitigrade carnivorous 
animals, as the Paradoxuri, from India; also some of the 
lesser marsupial animals, as the Opossum, [Didelphis 
virginianay Linn.) from Brazil, the Spotted Weasel 
{Dasyurus macrourus)^ a young specimen of the Wombat, 
[PhascolomysJusca^ Desm.), the Pigmy Opossum [Didel- 
phis pygmcea, Shaw), and the Flying Opossum (Didelphis 
petaurus, Shaw), all from New Holland. 
Case 23 contains the minor animals belonging to the 
order Glires, as the Water RaL (Mus amphihius, Linn.), 
Dormice, [M, glis, Linn.), Pouched Rat, (M. hursarius^ 
Shaw), Chinchilla, (Chinchilla Lanigery Gray), valuable 
for its peculiarly soft fur ; and a series of Squirrels from 
various parts of the world. 
Case 24 contains other Glires, as the Flying Squirrel, 
[Scuirus volans, Linn.), Hare, Rabbit, (Lepus timidusy and 
L> cuniculusy Linn.), and the prehensile-tailed Porcupine 
[Hystrix insidiosay Illig.) ; also some of the smaller 
Edentata, as two species of Armadillo [Dasypus duodecimo 
cinctusy and minuiuSy Desm.), from South America; the 
long and the short-tailed Manis, the former from India, 
and the latter from Africa (Manis tetradactyla and penta- 
dactylay Linn.),—very young specimens of the two, and of 
the three-toed Sloth {Bradypus didactylus and tridactylusy 
Linn.) ; the Small Ant-eater (Myrmecophaga didactylay 
Linn.), from South America; and the Ornithorhynchus, 
or Duck-billed Platypus (0. Faradoxusy Blumenb.), from 
New Holland. 
The forms of the Armadillo and the Manis, and the 
curious shields with which they are furnished by nature 
are sufficiently wonderful; but the structure of the Orni¬ 
thorhynchus is so anomalous, that Dr. Shaw, who first 
described this most extraordinary genus ’’ in the Natu¬ 
ralist's Miscellany, hesitated whether to admit it into his 
History of Quadrupeds, in the first volume of his General 
Zoology,—for as the original description was given from 
the only individual at that time known, it was,” he 
