the county of Orange, state of New York, about sixty miles N.N.W. from the city of this name, where it was accidentally discovered by farmers who were digging shell marle for manure. The skeleton measured eleven feet high, seventeen and a half long, and five feet eight inches wide: the under jaw alone weighed sixty-three pounds, and the whole skeleton about 1000 pounds. The tusks were different in form and substance from those of the elephant; the spinous processes over the shoulders were prodigiously large and ridgy, so that the back must have been sharp like that of the hog; the ribs were short, narrow, and placed edgewise, and altogether unlike those of the elephant, which are broad and flat; the tail, unlike that of the Siberian mammoth, appeared to have been long, broad, and flat; the scapula were unlike those of other animals. The Philosophical Society of Philadelphia is in possession of a skeleton in some degree more perfect.

The generic name of megatherium was first bestowed upon this animal by M. Cuvier, who appears accurately to have examined its skeleton: and to this generic name he added the trivial name of Americanum, to distinguish the individual from which his observations was made. In Dr. Shaw it occurs under the name of manis megatherium.

The following is M. Cuvier's description.

"This skeleton is fossil. It was found a hundred feet beneath the surface of a sandy soil, in the vicinity of the river of La Plata. It only wants the tail, and some pair-bones, which have been imitated in wood; and the skeleton is now mounted at Madrid. This skeleton is twelve feet (French) long, by six feet in height. The spine is composed of seven cervical, sixteen dorsal, and four lumber vertebræ : it has consequently sixteen ribs. The sacrum is short: the ossa illia is very broad; and their plane being almost perpendicular to the spine, they form a very open pelvis. There is no pubis or ischium: at least they are wanting in this skeleton, and there is no mark of their having existed when the animal was alive.

"The thigh bones are excessively thick, and the leg bones still more so in proportion. The entire sole of the foot bore on the ground in walking. The shoulder-blade is much broader than long. The clavicles are perfect, and the bones of the fore-arm are distinct and moveable upon each other. The fore limbs are longer than the hind. To judge by the form of the last phalanxes,

there must have been very long pointed claws, enclosed at their origin in a long sheath. There appears to have been only three of these claws on the fore-feet, and a single one on the hind. The other toes seem to have been deprived of them, and perhaps entirely concealed beneath the skin.

"The head is the greatest singularity of this skeleton. The occiput is elongated and flattened, but it is pretty convex above the eyes. The two jaws form a considerable projection, but without the teeth, all grinders, with a flat crown and grooved across. The breadth of the branches of the lower jaw, and the great apophysis placed on the base of the zygomatic arch, deserve particular notice.

"This quadruped in its character, taken together, differs from all known animals: and each of its bones considered apart, also differs from the corresponding bones of all known animals. This results from a detailed comparison of the skeleton with that of other animals, and will readily appear to those who are conversant in such researches: for none of the animals which approach it in bulk have either pointed claws, or similarly formed head, shoulderblades, clavicle, pelvis, or limbs.

"As to its place in the system of quadrupeds, it is perfectly marked by the sole inspection of the ordinary indicatory characters, that is, the claws and teeth. These shew that it must be classed in the family of unguiculated quadrupeds, destitute of cutting teeth; and in fact it has striking relations with those animals in all parts of its body. This family is composed of the sloth (bradypus), armadillo (dasypus), pangolin (manis), ant-eater (myrmecophagus), and Cape ant-eater (orycteropus).

"The great thickness of the branches of the lower jaw, surpass ing even that of the elephant, seems to prove that this vast animal was not content with leaves, but like the elephant and rhinoceros, broke and ground the branches themselves; its close and flat-crowned teeth appearing very proper for that purpose. The position of the bones of the nose having some analogy with that of the elephant and tapir, would induce an opinion that our animal wore a trunk, but it must have been very short, since the length of the head and neck together only equals that of the fore legs. However this be, we find, in the absence of canine teeth, and the shortness of the muzzle, sufficient characters to constitute a new genus in the family of the edentated, which ought to be placed between the sloth and

the armadillo; since to the shape of the head of the former it joins the teeth of the latter. It would be necessary to know par ticulars of which a skeleton cannot inform us, such as the nature of the teguments, the form of the tongue, the position of the mammæ, &c. in order to determine to which of these it approached the most.

"This adds to the numerous facts which apprise us that the animals of the ancient world were all different from those we now see on the earth; for it is scarcely probable that if this animal still existed, so remarkable a species would have hitherto escaped the researches of the naturalists. It is also a new and very strong proof of the invincible laws of the subordination of characters, and the justness of the consequences thereon deduced for the classification of organized bodies and under both these views it is one of the most valuable discoveries which have for a long time been made iu natural history." [Pantologia.

SECTION VI.

Duck-Bill.

Platypus anatinus.-SHAW.

THIS singular quadruped forms one of the wonders of Australa. sia and we shall take our account of him from Dr. Shaw's spirited and accurate description.

Of all the mammalia, says he, yet known, it seems the most extraordinary in its conformation; exhibiting the perfect resemblance of the beak of a duck, engrafted on the head of a quadruped. So accurate is the similitude, that at first view it naturally excites the idea of some deceptive preparation by artificial means: the very epidermis, proportion, serratures, manner of opening, and other particulars of the beak of a shoveller, or other broad-billed species of duck, presenting themselves to the view: nor is it with. out the most minute and rigid examination that we can persuade ourselves of its being the real beak or snout of a quadruped.

The body is depressed, and has some resemblance to that of an otter in miniature: it is covered with a very thick, soft, and beaver-like fur, and is of a moderately dark brown above, and of a subferruginous white beneath. The head is flattish, and rather small than large; the mouth, or snout, as before observed, so

it might be mistaken for such; round the base is a flat circular membrane, somewhat deeper or wider below than above; viz. be. low near the fifth of an inch, and above about an eighth. The tail is flat, furry like the body, rather short and obtuse, with an almost bifid termination; it is broader at the base, and gradually lessens to the tip, and is about three inches in length: its colour is similar to that of 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 half. The legs are very short, terminating in a broad web, which on the fore-feet extends to a considerable dis. tance beyond the claws; but on the hind-feet reaches no farther than the roots of the claws. On the fore-feet are five claws, strait, strong, and sharp-pointed; the two exterior ones somewhat On the hind-feet are six shorter than the three middle ones. claws, longer and more inclined to a curved form, than those of the fore-feet; the exterior toe and claw are considerably shorter than the four middle ones; the interior or sixth is seated much higher up than the rest, and resembles a strong sharp spur. All the legs are hairy above; the fore feet are naked both above and below; but the hind-feet are naked above and hairy below. The internal edges of the under mandible (which is narrower than the upper), are serrated or channelled with numerous striæ, as in a duck's bill. The nostrils are small and round, and are situated about a quarter of an inch from the tip of the bill, and are about the eighth of an inch distant from each other. There is no appearance of teeth; the palate is removed, but seems to have resembled that of a duck; the tongue also is wanting in the specimen. The ears or auditory foramina are placed are placed about half an inch beyond the eyes; they appear like a pair of oval holes, of the eighth of an inch in diameter, there being no external ear. On the upper part of the head, on each side, a little beyond the beak, are situated two smallish oval white spots, in the lower part of each of which are imbedded the eyes, or at least the parts allotted to the animal for some kind of vision; for, from the thickness of the fur and the smallness of the organs, they seem to have been but obscurely calculated for distinct vision, and are probably like those of moles, and some other animals of that tribe; or perhaps even subcutaneous; the whole apparent diameter of the cavity in which they were placed not exceeding the tenth of an inch.

"When we consider the general form of this animal, and parti

cularly its bill and webbed feet, we shall readily perceive that it must be a resident in watery situations; that it has the habits of digging or burrowing in the banks of rivers, or under ground; and that its food consists of aquatic plants and animals. This is all that can at present be reasonably guessed at; future observa. tions, made in its native regions, will, it is hoped, afford us more ample information, and will make us fully acquainted with the na. tural history of an animal which differs so widely from all other quadrupeds, and which verifies, in a most striking manner, the observation of Buffon; viz. that whatever was possible for nature to produce, has actually been produced.

On a subject so extraordinary as the present, a degree of scepticism is not only pardonable, but laudable; and I ought, perhaps, to acknowledge that I almost doubt the testimony of my own eyes with respect to the structure of this animal's beak; yet must confess, that I can perceive no appearance of any deceptive preparation; and the edges of the rictus, the insertion, &c. when tried by the test of maceration in water, so as to render every part completely moveable, seem perfectly natural; nor can the most accu rate examination of expert anatomists discover any deception in this particular.

[Shaw.

SECTION VII.

Sheep.

Ovis aries.-LINN.

THIS valuable animal inhabits the whole globe; changes its teeth with its age; feeds on short tender grass, chiefly sheep's fescue ; has a peculiar tone, which is called bleating. The ram is esteemed the best-shaped that has a thick head, a broad front, large black eyes, a broad nose, a long, high body, a large crupper and large reins, massy testicles, and a long tail. His colour should be white; his fleece full and heavy. Those ewes are pref rred which have thick necks, large, soft, and silky fleeces, large bodies, and a nim. ble motion in walking. One ram suffices for fifty ewes.

Sheep are not among the most sagacious of the lower animals. They neither display the same natural dexterity and address, nor