CHAPTER II. Discovery and Early Descriptions

DISCOVERY AND EARLY DESCRIPTIONS

In the second volume of Collins’s Account of the English Colony in New South Wales (1802, p. 62), under date ‘November, 1797,’ there occurs the following account of what was apparently the first platypus captured by a European:--

“The Kangaroo, the Dog, the Opossum, the Flying Squirrel, the Kangaroo Rat, a spotted Rat, the common Rat, and the large Fox-bat (if entitled to a place in this society), made up the whole catalogue of animals that were known at this time, with the exception which must now be made of an amphibious animal, of the mole species, one of which had been lately found on the banks of a lake near the Hawkesbury. In size it was considerably larger than the land mole. The eyes were very small. The fore-legs, which were shorter than the hind, were observed, at the feet, to be provided with four claws, and a membrane, or web, that spread considerably beyond them, while the feet of the hind legs were furnished, not only with this membrane or web, but with four long and sharp claws, that projected as much beyond the web, as the web projected beyond the claws of the fore-feet. The tail of this animal was thick, short, and very fat; but the most extraordinary circumstance observed in its structure was, its having, instead of the mouth of an animal, the upper and lower mandibles of a duck. By these it was enabled to supply itself with food, like that bird, in muddy places, or on the banks of the lakes, in which its webbed feet enabled it to swim; while on shore its long and sharp claws were employed in burrowing; nature thus providing for it in its double or amphibious character. These little animals had been frequently noticed rising to the surface of the water, and blowing like the turtle.”

Collins also included an engraving of the animal “from a drawing made on the spot by Governor Hunter”, which appears on p. 63, with the following legend:--

“AN AMPHIBIOUS ANIMAL of the MOLE KIND which Inhabits the Banks of the fresh water Lagoons in New South Wales--its fore-feet are evidently their principal assistance in Swimming and their hind feet having the Claws extending beyond the Web’d part are useful in burrowing.”

A reproduction of this engraving is given on Plate 5.

Reproduced from the engraving in Collins’ New South Wales (1802).

The inference to be drawn from Collins’ description, read in conjunction with the reference (under the engraving) to the hind feet being useful in burrowing, is that the burrowing is done with the hind feet. If that meaning was intended, Collins was evidently misled by anatomical probabilities in assuming the function of the projecting hind-claws for that purpose and ignoring the possibility of the projecting web of the fore-paws being “palmed” to admit of the claws being used for burrowing. The actual method of burrowing is described on pages 112 and 120.

Plate 5]

It has not been possible to trace with certainty the subsequent history of this individual platypus. In the following year (1798), however, a specimen came into the hands of an English naturalist named Dobson, and--as already mentioned on page 1--was described by George Shaw. Shaw’s description was illustrated by two plates--Pl. 385, giving a view of the whole animal, and Pl. 386, on which are figured three aspects of the “bill”, and the fore-paw and hind foot. These are the first published figures. The work in which Shaw’s original description occurs is not easily accessible to the general reader, which fact is some justification for quoting the full text. But the surprise of the zoologist at the novel nature of the animal before him, and his uneasy doubt whether he is not being deceived by a clever taxidermist’s wiles, render the description too delightful to be omitted:--

“The animal exhibited on the present plate constitutes a new and singular genus, which, in the Linnaean arrangement of Quadrupeds, should be placed in the order Bruta, and should stand next to the genus Myrmecophaga.

“Of all the Mammalia 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 shoveler, or other broad-billed species of duck, presenting themselves to the view: nor is it without 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 exactly resembles that of some broad-billed species of duck that it might be mistaken for such: round the base is a flat, circular membrane, somewhat deeper or wider below than above; viz. below 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 a half. The legs are very short, terminating in a broad web, which on the fore-feet extends to a considerable distance beyond the claws; but on the hind feet reaches no farther than the roots of the claws. On the fore-feet are five claws, straight, strong, and sharp-pointed: the two exterior ones somewhat shorter than the three middle ones. On the hind feet are six claws, longer and more inclining to a curved form than those on 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 hairy above, and naked below. The internal edges of the under mandible, (which is narrower than the upper) are serrated or channelled with numerous striae, 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 an 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 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.

Of the upper surface, the only portions wholly submerged are the root and tip of the tail.

Plate 5]

“When we consider the general form of this animal, and particularly 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 observations, made in its native regions, will, it is hoped, afford us more ample information, and will make us fully acquainted with the natural history of an animal which differs so widely from all other quadrupeds, and which verifies in so striking a 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 accurate examination of expert anatomists discover any deception in this particular.

“The Platypus is a native of Australasia or New Holland, and is at present in the possession of Mr. Dobson, so much distinguished by his exquisite manner of preparing specimens of vegetable anatomy.”

Two years later Shaw repeated this description in his General Zoology (1800, Vol. 1, pp. 228-232), with the following remarks as preface:--

“Of this most extraordinary genus the first description appeared in the Naturalist’s Miscellany; but as the individual there described was the only one which had been seen, it was impossible not to entertain some distant doubts as to the genuine nature of the animal, and to surmise, that, though in appearance perfectly natural, there might still have been practised some arts of deception in its structure. I, therefore, hesitated as to admitting it into the present History of Quadrupeds. Two more specimens, however, having been very lately sent over from New Holland, by Governor Hunter, to Sir Joseph Banks, the suspicions before mentioned are now completely dissipated.”

It is clear from this that up to 1800 only three specimens had come under Shaw’s notice. Whether from the words “as the individual there described was the only one which has been seen” we are justified in concluding that this individual was identical with that mentioned by Collins, is another matter; but it seems at least probable. Little is known of the subsequent history of the skin which served as the type for Shaw’s description, but it was ultimately presented by Latham to the British Museum, where it is now preserved. Mr. Oldfield Thomas writes:--

“I have lying in front of me the original type skin of Shaw’s Platypus anatinus, but I am afraid I can give you practically no details of its history more than is printed in my Catalogue of Mammalia.

“It is an immature male with the spurs cut off (No. 110c of Gray’s List of Mammalia in the British Museum, 1843) 343 millimetres in extreme length. There were no registers in those days.”

Mr. Tom Iredale has directed attention to the fact that Hunter, besides the specimens which he had forwarded to London, also sent to Newcastle a platypus which reached the Literary and Philosophical Society of that city in 1798, together with a wombat, probably the first to reach England. These two animals were described by Bewick in an addendum to the fourth and all subsequent editions of his General History of Quadrupeds. I have not seen the fourth edition, but quote from the seventh (1820, p. 524):--

“We are favoured by the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne, with the figures and descriptions of two very rare animals, sent to them from New South Wales, by James Hunter, Esq. governor of that settlement.... The other seems to be an animal sui generis; it appears to possess a threefold nature, that of a fish, a bird, and a quadruped, and is related to nothing that we have hitherto seen: we shall not attempt to arrange it in any of the usual modes of classification, but content ourselves with giving the description of both these curious animals as they have been transmitted to us.”

On p. 528 appears a woodcut of the platypus with a legend--“An Amphibious Animal”--and the following description:--

“is found in freshwater lakes, and is about the size of a small Cat; it chiefly frequents the banks of the lakes; its bill is very similar to that of a Duck, and it probably feeds in muddy places in the same way; its eyes are very small; it has four short legs; the fore-legs are shorter than those of the hind, and their webs spread considerably beyond the claws, which enables it to swim with great ease; the hind legs are also webbed, and the claws are long and sharp. They are frequently seen on the surface of the water, where they blow like a turtle: their tail is thick, short, and very fat.

“The natives say they sometimes see them of a very large size.”

Bewick made no attempt to name the animal, and it appears in his index simply as “An Amphibious Animal of New South Wales.”

The first four specimens sent to England were in the form of dried skins. Home (1802, p. 69), writing after he had received specimens (in spirit) of the integumentary flap which surrounds the base of the muzzle, uses the following words:--

“In dried specimens that have been brought to England, the flap has been contracted in drying, and stands up perpendicularly. This, however, is now ascertained not to be its natural situation.”

As Home received from Banks the material which he described, it is reasonably certain that he refers to the two individuals sent by Hunter. One of these was sent to Blumenbach at Göttingen, who records (1800, p. 206) that he has received a stuffed specimen from “the Hon. Baronet Banks,” the first that had been sent from England to the Continent. This individual he described as Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. Weidemann, who also described the platypus in 1800 (as Dermipus anatinus), apparently had no specimen, and merely gave a German version of Shaw’s description with an indifferent copy of his figure.

Blumenbach (1801, p. 724) published an extract from a letter from Banks in which he stated that he now had a couple of spirit specimens, and gave a short description of them. These specimens formed the basis of the first anatomical description by Home (1802). The official correspondence in the Historical Records of New South Wales shows that one of these was sent by Governor King, who succeeded Hunter. King writes to Banks on 28 September, 1800:--“I send you by the hands of Capt. Kent, who is nephew to Governor Hunter, and commands the Buffalo, which he takes home with him, a cask in which is a water-mole ... (Historical Records of N.S.W., IV., p. 205), which I hope will all get safe, particularly the mole, which you desired.” In due course Kent writes from on board the Buffalo in Portsmouth harbour, on 1 July, 1801:--“The keg containing the water-mole and other articles in spirits ... I have still on board” (loc. cit., p. 427). We can find no record of the other spirit specimen sent about this time, but it is probable that this also was sent by King. A pencil note in Banks’s handwriting records that two animals were received.

A further spirit specimen is that of which Home (1802, p. 356) writes:--“... had I not been favoured by Sir Joseph Banks with a specimen of the paradoxus, brought from New South Wales by Mr. Belmain.” Balmain came out as assistant surgeon with the First Fleet, succeeded John White as head surgeon in 1796, and returned to England on leave by the Albion, arriving in March, 1802. A box of specimens was placed by King in his personal charge for delivery to Banks (Historical Records of N.S.W., IV, pp. 514-5).

It is of interest to note in passing that King uses the name ‘water-mole’ in the letter quoted above, but in a later letter to Banks (dated 5th June, 1802) writes:--“I do not recollect what things I sent by the Buffalo besides the duckbill....” (loc. cit., p. 784). These are the first mentions noted of the two names which were in vernacular use for many decades.

The first account of the habits of the platypus is that given to Home by Hunter. Home writes (1802, p. 67):--

“Governor Hunter, who has lately returned from New South Wales, where he had opportunities of seeing them alive, has favoured me with the following particulars respecting them.

“The Ornithorhynchus is only found in freshwater lakes, of which there are many in the interior parts of the country, some three-quarters of a mile long, and several hundred yards broad. This animal does not swim upon the surface of the water, but comes up occasionally to breathe, which it does in the same manner as the turtle. The natives sit upon the banks, with small wooden spears, and watch them every time they come to the surface, till they get a proper opportunity of striking them. This they do with much dexterity; and frequently succeed in catching them in this way.

“Governor Hunter saw a native watch one for above an hour before he attempted to spear it, which he did through the neck and fore leg; when on shore, it used its claws with so much force, that they were obliged to confine it between two pieces of board, while they were cutting off the barbs of the spear, to disengage it. When let loose, it ran upon the ground with as much activity as a land tortoise; which is faster than the structure of its fore-feet would have led us to believe. It inhabits the banks of the lakes, and is supposed to feed in the muddy places which surround them; but the particular kind of food on which it subsists, is not known.”

As the second volume of Collins’s New South Wales was not published until 1802--by which time Home’s paper had appeared, and a copy had been sent by him to Collins--the author was able to include a further account of the platypus (1802, pp. 321-8), abstracted from Home.

Hunter’s account forms the basis of most statements concerning the economy of the animal which appear in European works on natural history during the next three decades. Since the first discovery was made ‘on the banks of a lake near the Hawkesbury,’ the platypus is invariably described as a dweller on the banks of lakes, and its more customary habitat in rivers is not mentioned. Mr. Henry Selkirk, who has a long-standing familiarity with the Hawkesbury district, informs me that he thinks it probable that the lake mentioned as the site of the first discovery is one of several lagoons close to the town of Richmond. He himself, as a boy, made his first acquaintance with the platypus in those waters.

These meagre particulars are all that I have been able to gather concerning the discovery of the platypus. In view of the interest which it excited in Europe, and of the keen demand for specimens that must have followed immediately upon the first description, it is rather remarkable that contemporary journals and official documents should be so barren of reference to it. White and Tench, who would surely have told us more had they been in the colony at the time, had unfortunately returned to England before the discovery. Hunter, to whom we owe the first drawing of the animal, as well as the first description of its habits, appears to have taken his recall very much to heart. Little is known of his subsequent history, and he made no effort to continue his journal over the period of years which included the first finding of the platypus.

It is certain, however, that there was a brisk traffic in specimens. When the great controversy as to the zoological position of the platypus, and its method of reproduction, began in the second decade of the nineteenth century, most European museums were in possession of material. Much of this was, doubtless, brought back by the various French scientific expeditions of which mention is made hereafter; but a great deal must have passed through English hands, and records of this may be presumed to exist somewhere. They have not, however, been revealed, and the only other contemporary account which I can find is in Barrington’s History of New South Wales (1804), which is substantially reproduced, without acknowledgment, from Home.