. Illustrated natural history : comprising descriptions of animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, insects, etc., with sketches of their peculiar habits and characteristics . Zoology. ISO Duck-billed Platypus. The Oknithorhtnchus has not the pouch, like the opos sum and kangaroo, but has the marsupial bones, and is therefore to be enumerated under this order. It is a most singular and anomalous animal, and approaches, in some particulars, to a resem- blance to birds. When the creature was first discovered, it re- ceived the allusive name of Ornithorhynchus Paradoxicus; but it has since
. Illustrated natural history : comprising descriptions of animals, birds, fishes, reptiles, insects, etc., with sketches of their peculiar habits and characteristics . Zoology. ISO Duck-billed Platypus. The Oknithorhtnchus has not the pouch, like the opos sum and kangaroo, but has the marsupial bones, and is therefore to be enumerated under this order. It is a most singular and anomalous animal, and approaches, in some particulars, to a resem- blance to birds. When the creature was first discovered, it re- ceived the allusive name of Ornithorhynchus Paradoxicus; but it has since been denominated the Platypus Anatinus, or Duckbilled Platypus. It has a depressed body, somewhat resembling that of an otter in miniature, which is covered with a soft fur, dark brown above, and of a ferruginous white be- neath. The head is flattish, and the snout so exactly resembles that of some broad-billed spe- cies of duck, that it might easily be mistaken for such. The tail is flat, furry, and of the same color as the body. The length of the whole animal, from the tip of the beak to that of the tail, is thirteen inches; of the beak an inch and a half. The legs are very short, and terminate in a broad web, which on the fore feet extends to a considerable distance beyond the claws; but on the hind feet reaches no further than the roots of the claws. On the upper part of the head, on each side, a little beyond the beak, are situated two oval white spots, in the lower part of each of which the eyes are embedded. From the general form of this animal, and particularly its bill and webbed feet, it may naturally be con- cluded that it resides in watery situations; that it has the habil of digging or burrowing in the banks of rivers or under ground; and that its food consists of aquatic plants and Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1883
