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Show 1885.] MR. O. THOMAS ON THE RACES OF ECHIDNA. 339 N. H. Mamm. i. p. 47 (1846) ; Gould, Mamm. Austr. i. pi. iii. (1849). E. breviaculeata, Tiedem. Zoologie, i. p. 592. Hab. Tasmania. Size large. Spines short and stout, more or less hidden by the long fur, especially in the centre of the back. Crown of head, belly, and legs covered witn thick woolly fur, unmixed with bristles. Third hind claw very nearly as stout and long as the second. Skull large and broad (breadth 45-50 mm., index 41-45), large rounded brain-case (capacity 27 to 37 c. cm.), and a comparatively short, stout snout (rostral index generally from 90 to 100). Condyloid vacuities generally present. It may be useful in this connection to give the synonymy of the three-toed Echidna, an animal which, although not yet ten years known, has become possessed of the following formidable array of names :- PROECHIDNA BRUIJNII. Tachyglossus bruijnii, Peters & Doria, Ann. Mus. Genov. ix. p. 183 (1876), xvi. p. 687 (1881). Acanthoglossus bruijnii, Gervais, C. R. p. 990 (1877); Journ. Zool. vi. p. 375 ; Osteogr. Monotr. p. 41 (1877). Proechidna bruijnii, Gervais, Osteogr., Monotr. p.-43 (1877, ; Murie, J. Linn. Soc. xvi. p. 417 (1878); Flower & Garson, Cat. Coll. Surg. ii. p. 753 (1884). Bruijnia tridactyla, A. Dubois, Bull. Soc. Zool. vi. p. 266, pis. ix. and x. (1882). Proechidna villosissima, A. Dubois, Bull. Mus. Belg. iii. p. 110, pi. iv. (1884), juv. For the sake of comparison, the measurements and indices of a skull of this species have been placed at the bottom of the table on j>. 335. EXPLANATION OF PLATES. PLATE XXIII. Upper view of skulls of Echidna to show geographical variation in size. Fig. A. Skull of Echidna aculeata lawesi, $; g' of list. B. Skull of Echidna aculeata typica, $>; i' of list. C. Skull of Echidna aculeata setosa, 2 ' s' °f Ust- L\ „ „ „ b" of list. PLATE XXIV. Figs. A and B. Skulls of Echidna aculeata setosa, 3 and 2 ' r' an(l s' of list, showing sexual difference in form. C. Left bind foot of Echidna aculeata setosa. B. Left hind foot of Echidna aculeata lawesi. E. Back part of base of skull of Echidna aculeata setosa, showing open condyloid vacuities. F. Back part of base of skull of Echidna aculeata typica, showing vacuities closed. |
