. A hand-book to the marsupialia and monotremata. amm., p. 114 (181T).Echinqpus setosus, G. Fischer, Zoogn., vol. iii., p. 694 (1814). Characters.—General colour of hair black or dark brown;under-parts brown j spines of back long and stout, generallycompletely concealing the fur, and usually yellow with blacktips ; tail short and conical, with the extremity naked. Lengthof head and body varying from about 14 to 20 inches. Distribution.—From South-Eastern New Guinea, throughoutAustralia, to Tasmania. Varieties.—^Writing of the different local races of this exceed-ingly variable and widely-sprea
. A hand-book to the marsupialia and monotremata. amm., p. 114 (181T).Echinqpus setosus, G. Fischer, Zoogn., vol. iii., p. 694 (1814). Characters.—General colour of hair black or dark brown;under-parts brown j spines of back long and stout, generallycompletely concealing the fur, and usually yellow with blacktips ; tail short and conical, with the extremity naked. Lengthof head and body varying from about 14 to 20 inches. Distribution.—From South-Eastern New Guinea, throughoutAustralia, to Tasmania. Varieties.—^Writing of the different local races of this exceed-ingly variable and widely-spread Echidna, Mr. Thomas ob-serves that although several so-called species have been founded,and although the range of variation is very large, yet all theintermediate stages appear to exist between the most widelyseparated forms. Three geographical races, however, seem todeserve recognition by name—a northern, central, and southern;but these distinguishing characters are too slight and too in-constant to justify their specific a Sow ?;o a oo THE FIVE-CLAWED ECHIDNAS. 243 Ofthese, the typical or central race, is confined to the main-land of Australia, and is of medium size, attaining a. lengthof about 17 inches, exclusive of the tail. Next to this comesthe Port Moresby or Kapuan five-clawed Echidna, which: isconfined tosouth-eastern New Guinea, and is characterised byits smaller dimensions (length of head and body aliout 14inches), and the shorter spines of the back. Curiously enough,the most different from all is the hairy variety, from Tasmania,,which attains a length of about 20 inches, and is further char-acterised by the greater length of the fur, which nearly concealsthe spines, and likewise by the elongation of the claw of thethird toe of the hind foot, which is nearly equal in length tothat of the second. Habits.—^As in the case of the Duck-bill, it has- only beemcomparatively recently proved that the Echidna lays eg2:s,.which are carried about and
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