Natural history museum collections are invaluable snapshots of history. Research collections can be used to trace how animals have changed over time. Collections are also a reflection of the people and attitudes at the time it was curated. There is a well-represented collection of native Australian animals in the Zoology Museum at Trinity College Dublin. Well-represented in many sense of the word. This is a story about the red land down under, Australia, and the collection of Australian animals held in overseas museums around the world. It is a story in parts. This is the second part. Read the first part here.
Monotreme Mistakes
Echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) are monotremes; Order Monotremata within Class Mammalia. They have hair and produce milk like other mammals but unlike other mammals, they lay eggs. Monotremes are endemic to Australia and New Guinea and consist of the four species of echidna and the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus).
