Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/710

* ECHEVIN. 620 ECHINODERMATA. liugian period. In the tenth century the Cchevins were given jurisdiction over the nonnoble chiss, the peasants, and the towns, and hiler became municipal magistrates. At the close of the twelfth century the Gclievius in the towns were elected yearly. The celievins seem to have formed a body or tribunal which in many cases not only administered justice, but controlled military allairs, and imposed police regulations. In the north of France these tribunals were especially numerous. The powers of the cchcvins declined after the sixteenth century, and the Central Government, in 17G4, sought to unify the whole system, of vclicviiiaffc by limiting the nvnn- ber to four for all large towns. In Paris there were four echevins. chosen every two years. Their powers were limited to the regulation of trade, fixing the prices of commodities, and set- tling the disputes of tradesmen. The oflRce of echevin was abolished in December, 1789, dur- ing the first period of the French Revolution. ECHIDNA, 6-kid'na ( Lat., Gk. ^x^Sm, viper, from ex"; cchin, Skt. ahi. Av. a:hi, serpent). A genus and family I Ecliidnidir) of monotreme mannnals, the sjiiny or porcupine ant-eaters of the Australian region, closely allied to the duckbill. The ordinary' echidna is from 12 to 18 inches long, and has a broad, depressed body, mounted upon very short, strong legs terminating in big, powerful claws suited to digging into hard ground. AUSTRALIAN SPRING AXT-EATER {EcbidDa afule&tn). The head is small, and the no.se prolonged into a slender snout; the mouth is without teeth, but the palate is studded with recurved spines, and the tongue is slender, extensile, and glutinous. The back of the animal is covered with stiff, hedgehog-like spines, mixed with long, coarse hairs: and when danger threatens it outside its burrow, it curls up much like a hedgehog, so as to protect the under parts, which have no spines, but are clothed in silky brown hair. The males have spurs on their heels, like the duckbill (q.v. ), but have never been seen to use them. It dwells in burrows of its owti digging, and ob- tains its food by excavating in the hillocks of ints, which it tears open in order to devour the succulent larvic. Like other monotremcs. the echidnas lay eggs, but less is known as to their breeding than in the case of the duckbill. They are gentle in disposition, endure confinement well, eating bread and milk, chopped cgas, etc., and are frequently kept as intelligent and play- ful pets, exhibiting a good deal of activity and agility. They are inclined to nocturnal habits, and in times of drought become dormant in their burrows. The common echidna {Echidna anileal a) seems to be very variable in size, color, and length of spines, and some naturalists have separated the large Tasmanian form as Echidna setosa. and the small Xew Guinea form as Echidna Laicssii, but their specific value is doubtful. In New (iuinea there also occurs a closely related animal, Proichidna (or Acnnthuylossus) Bruijni, TUREE-TOEII PAPUAN ANT-EATEII {ProPchidna Bruijnf). which is somewhat larger, has only three claws on each foot, and its snout and tongue are greatly prolonged. The Papuans call them nodiaks, and hunt them for food in the Arfak Mountains by the aid of dogs which know how to dislodge them from their burrows. Consult: Bennett, (lather- ings of a Xattiralist in Australia (London. 18(i0) ; Saville-Kent, The yaluralist in Austra- lia (London. 1S07). See JIonotreme. ECHINADES, f-kln'a-dez (Lat., Gk. 'Exi^dSej, from ^x'*'"'. <""o.'s, hedgehog) . A group of isl- lands in tlic Ionian Sea, now known as the Kurzolari Islands. They are situated aroimd the entrance of the Gulf of Corinth, and are su|i- posed to have been formed by drift from the river Achelous. Off these islands was fought the celebrated battle of Lepanto in which Admiral Doria and Don .John of Austria overwhelmed the Turkish fleet under Ali Pasha (October 7. 1571). ECHrNID.ffi, e-kinl-de. See Sea-Urchix. ECHINOCARIS, e-ki'nA-kjTrls (Xeo-Lat., from (ik. ^x'"''", echinos, hedgehog -f- xaplt, karis, shrimp). A fossil crustacean, the tail- spines of which are common in certain Devonian rocks. Sec PnYi.i.oi"oi).. ECHINOCOCCUS. «-krn6-k6k'kTis. See T.pe- WOKM. ECHINODEEMATA. .■ kl'n.'i-der'ma-til (Xeo- Lat. nom pi., from (ik. ^x'^''"'. echinos. hedgehog + Sdp/ia, derma, skin) . One of the great branches or jiliyla of invertebrate animals, constituting an independent, wcll-cliaracterizcd assemblage of or- ganisms. The grou]) is of higher rank than the ('trlenlerata, and is lower than the Vermes, with both of which groups it has few features in common. The animals of this phylum do not reproduce by either budding or fission, and therefore they are never found in compact colo- nies like those formed by the c(plcnterates. The body of the animal is built, more or less con- stantly throughout the phylum, on the pentam- eral plan of bilateral symmetry, in accordance with which th(^ number five is a dominant feature in the arrangement of the parts. ExTKRXAL Co^'ERlNO. The external covering of the echinoderms is remarkable for its diversity, for even within the limits of the same family we find a soft, leathery body-wall at oni" ex- treme, and a firm, almost immovable 'shell' at the other. This diversity is entirely due to the amount of mineral matter deposited in the body- wall, and the arrangement of the plates formed from it. In the holothurians the bodv-wall is