42 
MONOTREMATA. 
hind foot provided with a broad and rounded nail, the other 
toes having long and curved claws; the claw of the second 
toe very long. Tail very small, and hidden by the spines 
and fur. 
The long-spined Echidna has long been known as a native 
of New South Wales, and the author is indebted to Mr. Gould 
for calling his attention to the fact of its also inhabiting the 
West Coast, that gentleman having recently received a speci¬ 
men from the Swan River district. 
The Echidna is a small animal, being about equal to the 
common Hedge-liog in size, blit it has a powerful frame, 
fitted for burrowing habits. 
Skeleton of the Echidna. 
Its food consists of ants, and probably other small insects, 
and these are captured in the same way as the Ant-eaters 
( Myrmecopliaga ) procure similar prey—by the tongue, which 
in both instances is protractile, very long 1 , slender and 
flexible, and is constantly kept lubricated with a viscous 
matter, to which the ants adhere. To supply this secretion, 
the Echidna is provided with two enormous submaxillary 
glands, which extend from behind the ear to the fore part of 
the chest. Tliero are no teeth to the jaws, but tho palatal 
portion of the mouth is armed with several rows of strong 
1 In the figure given by Sir Evcrard Home, in the Philosophical Transac¬ 
tions (1802), the tongue is represented as upwards of six inches in length. 
