the scientific name of an orderof Australian mammals ( Monotremata). «The Monotremesderive their name from the circumstance that there is, as inbirds and reptiles, but a single aperture at the hinderextremity of the body from which are discharged the whole ofthe waste-products, together with the reproductive elements;the oviducts opening separately into the end of this passage,which is termed the cloaca. [Grk. monos, sole, and traema, a passage or hole.] Reproduction is effected bymeans of eggs, which are laid and hatched by the female parent;after [being hatched] the young are nourished by milk secretedby special glands situated within a temporary pouch, into whichthe head of the young animal is inserted and retained. . . .It was not until 1884 that it was conclusively proved that theMonotremes did actually lay eggs similar in structure to thoseof birds and reptiles.» (R. Lydekker, `Marsupialia andMonotremata,' 1894, p. 227.)
The Monotremes are strictly confined to Australia, Tasmania,and New Guinea. They are the Platypus (q.v.), and the Echidna (q.v.), or Ant-eating Porcupine.