Ornithorhynchus
commonly ORPHEUS, in Greek mythology, a celcalled duckbill or watermole, in zoölogy, ebrated mythic bard, said to have been the sole genus of the family. Premaxa son of Apollo or Eagrus, King of illa and the mandible expanded anterior- Thrace, and the Muse Calliope. Toly, and supporting a horny beak; teeth gether with his brother Linus he was supplied functionally by horny struc- regarded as having introduced the arts tures; legs short, fitted for swimming; of civilized life among wild and untufeet webbed, each with five well developed toes, armed with large claws, and beyond which, in the forefeet, the interdigital membrane is extended. Tongue not extensile; tail rather short, broad, and depressed; eyes very small; fur close and soft. A single sp species, O. paradoxus, O. anatinus, inhabits Australia and Tasmania. It is aquatic, and feeds on water insects, small mollusca, and worms. The ornithorhynchus, though mammalian in its general structure, is oviparous, laying two eggs at a time. These are about 3/4 inches in the longer, and 1/2 inches in the shorter diameter.