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An Antipodal Mystery

by
Clyde Freeman Herreid
Department of Biological Sciences
University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Part I—A Letter from Down Under

… The river was very still on the curve where the eucalyptus dips towards the water. The light shaded near late afternoon and twilight would soon darken the outline of the wooded bank and the flat landscape stretching to the horizon. Bubbles broke the surface of the water. A small brown head, its sleek furred cap glided silently in the river’s flow.

As you can imagine, my esteemed colleague, I wondered what the aborigine was spearing in the lake near Hawkesbury River close to Sidney. I soon discovered the answer. A small creature fought for its life with such force that it caught its assailant with its spur and seemed to cause much pain. I have taken the liberty of posting the skin of the specimen to you for your study. It is preserved in a keg of spirits with another antipodal beast. I send it to your keeping for the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

I remain your servant,
John Hunter, Governor
New South Wales

Thomas Bewick looked at the letter closely, pursing his lips. He gingerly unfolded the pages of notes and drawings that spilled from the governor’s weathered envelope, addressed months ago. With each passing moment his surprise increased; this creature was nothing like any animal seen before. What would he write in his next edition of General History of Quadrupeds? What could he possibly say? The animal seemed hardly real. Is it a mammal, he mused, or …?

Question

Hunter’s drawings seem unbelievable. Bewick suspects that this is not going to be a simple problem in classification. How should he decide what the creature is? What is the definition of a mammal?

  1. Predict in as much detail as possible exactly what features a mammal would be expected to have. Consider the external as well as internal anatomy of a mammal; list all characteristics you can think of. Indicate which of these are exclusive to mammals and which are found in other vertebrates such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds.

Go to Part II—“A Three-Fold Nature”

Date Posted: 08/15/05 nas

Image Credit: Ferdinand Bauer, Natural History Museum, London.

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