Category Archives: Mammals

When people unfamiliar with the existence of the echidna hear a description of it and its behavior, based on anatomical and physiological facts, their typical reaction is: “Impossible! Inconceivable!” Toward the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth, when naturalists were beginning to exchange information about monotremes— platypuses and echidnas—they had … Continue reading

The first European to see the kangaroos was the Dutch navigator Pelsart in Australia 1629. He saw a herd of animals fleeing his head like a dog, huge jumps. When he finally got back to Europe, he described these strange creatures. Other adventurers after him confirmed his report. And so the existence of these Australian … Continue reading

London, 1798—One day a tall, sunburnt man, swaying a little in his walk as sailors do, waited patiently to see a famous professor. Luckily, he did not have to wait long. The professor, one of the most important naturalists of England, appeared and invited him into his office. The sailor, a little ill at ease, … Continue reading