The Echidnas have large marsupial bones. They have not a true pouch, but only a rudimentary one, or rather an infolding of the skin, during the breeding season, in the female. The orifices of the teats are situated beneath the level of the skin, and inverted; and as the surrounding parts swell under the influence of suckling, there is a little cavity made, at the bottom of which are the so-called nipples. They are really little depressions with hair around them. The young Echidnas are placed in this temporary cavity by the mother, and help themselves by placing their snouts in the small depressions leading to the milk gland. Captain Armit says that some force is required to get the young out of the pouch, and that there is probably a muscular ring to it. They are at first very small. When about a month or so old, the hinder parts of the young may be seen sticking out of the region of the fold, and at three months the body may be observed, the animal still adhering by its snout. When the prickles of the young begin to harden, the old one turns them out into the world. (But see Postscript, p. 234.)
A short-spined Echidna (Echidna setosa) inhabits Van Diemen’s Land, whose hair is sufficiently long to hide most of the spines, but little is known regarding its habits. Quoy and Gaimard, two French naturalists, kept one for a month, and it took no food, but after that time it began to lap and to eat a mixture of flour, sugar, and water. It burrowed very rapidly, and got to the bottom of a large can full of earth and plants in the course of a few minutes, and it was assisted in this by its snout.
MOUTH (A) AND NOSE-SNOUT (B) OF ECHIDNA.
A species of Echidna has been found in the north of the Island of New Guinea, at the Mont des Karous and Mount Arfak, at an altitude in the first place of 1,150 yards. It likes the rocky broken ground, and is unknown on the sea coast. The natives call it “Nokdiak,” and hunt it for the flesh. As the animal burrows well, the natives dig down about a yard in different places, and generally cut across one of the underground runs. It has been described, and has been named after the explorer, M. Brujn. It is more robust and larger than the species from Australia and Van Diemen’s Land, has a very long snout—three times the length of the head—a short tail, and is black in colour with white points. The fur is plentiful, and like velvet, whilst the spines are scanty, and about midway in strength between those of the two Australian kinds. The number of nails on the fore and hind feet is singular in this New Guinea Echidna, for there are three on each instead of five. The tongue of the species is longer and more spiny; moreover, the number of vertebræ differs in this new kind. There are seventeen dorsal instead of fifteen, and there is one caudal more than in the others. The spiny pimples on the tongue and palate, so well developed in this Echidna, have tempted Professor Gervais to include it in a new genus, Acanthoglossus; but it is as well to retain the old name, so that the creature is called Echidna Brujnii. Another species has been found in the south of New Guinea, at Port Moresby, which is distinguished chiefly by the long, thin, cylindrical form of the quills, and the stiff, flat, hair-like bristles on the face. The tint of the flattish bristles covering all the body and limbs, except the back, is brown; on the back are long cylindrical spines, some white and others black. There are five claws to each foot, and the second hind toe is said to be the largest. The fore limbs are short, stout, and strong. It has been named Echidna Lawesii (Ramsay), after its discoverer. All these animals can roll themselves up.
THE WATER MOLE, OR DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS.[131]
Like most of the other objects of natural history found in Australia and the neighbouring islands, the Water Mole is very singular in its construction, nature, and habits. It is of all animals that suckle their young the most like a bird, and it really deserves the title, from its external appearance of half beast, half bird. As its shape and method of life are peculiar, it has received several names, such as the Water Mole, the Flat-footed, Duck-billed Platypus, the Bird-beaked quadruped, and the Paradoxical Bird-beaked animal. It is very fond of the water and also of burrowing in the ground, and, of course, is admirably adapted for these pursuits: hence its construction relates to them to a certain extent, and also to that of the animals of which it was, as it were, a continuation in the scheme of nature.
The Ornithorhynchus anatinus has a rather flat body of about eighteen inches in length, and the head and snout greatly resemble those of a Duck, whilst the tail is short, broad, and flat, and resembles that of a small Beaver, but is shorter. The feet are webbed and flat, and the greater part of the creature is covered with a short dense fur of a dusky brown colour, darker on the upper and paler on the under parts of the body. A slight examination of the habits of the animal will explain the necessity for observing it a little more closely. Mr. Bennett describes his first interview with one shortly after his arrival in Australia. He writes: “We soon came to a tranquil part of the river, such as the colonists call a ‘pond,’ on the surface of which numerous aquatic plants grew. It is in places of this description that the Water Moles are most commonly seen, seeking their food among the aquatic plants, whilst the steep and shaded banks afford them excellent situations for excavating their burrows. We remained stationary on the banks, waiting their appearance with some degree of impatience, and it was not long before my companion quietly directed my attention to one of these animals, paddling on the surface of the water, not far distant from the bank on which we were then standing. In such circumstances they may be readily recognised by their dark bodies, just seen level with the surface, above which the head is slightly raised, and by the circles made in the water round them by their paddling action. On seeing them, the spectator must remain perfectly stationary, as the slightest noise or movement of his body would cause their instant disappearance, so acute are they in sight or hearing, or perhaps both; and they seldom appear when they have been frightened.” On ordinary occasions they do not remain more than a minute or two at a time on the surface of the water.
A burrow of an Ornithorhynchus, which Mr. Bennett opened, had its entrance on a steep part of a bank, situated about one foot from the water’s edge, and concealed among the long grass and other Plants. “This burrow ran up the bank in a serpentine course, approaching nearer to the surface of the earth towards its termination, at which part the nest is situated. No nest had yet been made in the termination of the burrow, for that appears to be formed about the time of bringing forth the young, and consists merely of dried grass, weeds, &c., strewed over the floor of this part of the habitation.” The expanded termination measured one foot in length and six inches in breadth, and the whole length of the burrow was twenty feet. Besides the entrance before alluded to, it appears there is usually a second opening into the burrows below the surface of the water, communicating with the interior, just within the upper aperture. A burrow subsequently examined by Mr. Bennett terminated at a distance of thirty-five feet from the entrance; and that gentleman stated that they have been found fifty feet in length.
From the burrow first opened by Mr. Bennett a living female was taken, and placed in a cask, with grass, mud, water, &c., and in this situation it soon became tranquil, and apparently reconciled to its confinement. On his return home to Sydney, Mr. Bennett determined to indulge it with a bathe; and with this view, when he arrived in the vicinity of some ponds, he tied a long cord to its leg. “When placed on the bank, it soon found its way into the water, and travelled up the stream, apparently delighting in those places which most abounded in aquatic weeds. When diving in deep and clear water, its motions were distinctly seen: it sank speedily to the bottom, swam there for a short distance, and then rose again to the surface. It appeared, however, to prefer keeping close to the bank, occasionally thrusting its beak into the mud, from whence it evidently procured food, as, on raising the head, after withdrawing the beak, the mandibles were seen in lateral motion, as is usual when the animal masticates. The motions of the mandibles were similar to those of a Duck under the same circumstances. After feeding, it would lie sometimes on the grassy bank, and at others partly in and partly out of the water, combing and cleaning its coat with the claws of the hind feet. This process occupied a considerable time, and greatly improved its sleek and glossy appearance.”