STORY OF THE ECHIDNA. 
One of the queerest ant-eating animals with which I am acquainted is 
the echidna, or spiny ant-eater. There are two species of this queer animal, 
which differ widely in appearance from the duckbill and are found over a 
larger area of territory. 
Instead of mole-like fur, the echidnas have the upper surface of the head 
and body covered with a mixture of stiff hairs and short thick spines. The 
head is rather small and rounded, and has a long, slender, beak-like snout, 
covered with skin, at the extremity of which are situated the small nostrils. 
There are no external conchs to the ears; but the eyes are of fair size. The 
opening of the mouth is very small, and the tongue, which can be extended 
at great length, has the long, round form characteristic of all ant-eaters. 
The skull is devoid of all traces of teeth, and remarkable for the slender¬ 
ness of its lower jaw, and its generally bird-like form. Although there is 
nothing corresponding to the horny plates of the mouth of the duckbill, 
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