Life of a platypus
The Platypus is a unique Australian species. Along with echidna, Platypuses are grouped in a separate order of mammals known as monotremes, which are distinguished from all other mammals because they lay eggs. When first discovered, the unusual look of a Platypus caused considerable confusion and doubt among European naturalists and scientists, many of whom believed that the animal was a fake.
Identification
Platypus is well adapted for semi-aquatic lifestyle. Its streamline body and a broad, flat tail are covered with dense waterproof fur, which provides excellent thermal insulation. The Platypus propels itself through the water by using its front, short, webbed limbs, and the partially-webbed hind feet act as rudders. Behind its distinctive bill are the grooves that house the ear openings and the eyes which close when the animal dives. The Platypus uses its tail for storage of fat reserves and the strong claws on its feet for burrowing and moving on land. In addition, males possess a horny spur on their ankles, which is connected to a venom gland in the upper leg, making the Platypus one of the few venomous mammals.
Habitat
Feeding and diet
The Platypus feeds mainly during the night on a wide variety of aquatic invertebrates. The average foraging periods last for 10-12 hours per day, and the distances the animals move during this time vary between individuals and their distribution. The animal closes its eyes, ears and nostrils when foraging underwater and its primary sense organ is the bill,equipped with receptors sensitive to pressure, and with electro-receptors. The precise way in which the Platypus uses the bill to detect prey is still unknown
Life history cycle
Young Platypuses do not seem to reproduce in their first year of life, instead, both sexes become reproductive in their second year. Still, many females do not breed until they are at least 4 years old. After mating, a female will lay 1-3 eggs (usually 2) following a 21-days gestation period. She then incubates the eggs for possibly 10 days, after which the lactation period lasts for 3-4 months before the young emerge from the burrow. Platypuses are long-lived animals both in captivity and in the wild, living up to approximately 20 years.
Predators
Platypuses spend most of their time in water or their burrow, so it is difficult to determine their predators. There have been anecdotal reports of the species being predated on by crocodiles, goannas, carpet pythons, eagles and large native fish. In addition, it is likely that foxes, and possibly dogs or dingoes kill Platypuses that move on land or in shallow waters.
Ten amazing facts about a platypus
1. PLATYPUSES DON’T HAVE STOMACHS.
Platypuses (platypodes and platypi are technically also correct, but much rarer in use) aren't the only animals to forgo an acid-producing part of the gut; spiny echidnas, and nearly a quarter of living fishes all have a gullet that connects directly to their intestines.
2. PLATYPUS BILLS GIVE THEM A “SIXTH SENSE.”
A platypus’s bill has thousands of cells that give it a sort of sixth sense, allowing them to detect the electric fields generated by all living things. It’s so sensitive that the platypus can hunt with its eyes, ears, and nose all closed, relying entirely on the bill’s electrolocation.
3. PLATYPUSES USED TO BE GIANT.
The ancient versions of a lot of modern animals, including penguins, were oversized monsters compared to the animals we know today—and platypuses are no different. In 2013, the discovery of a single tooth helped researchers identify a prehistoric platypus that was more than three feet long—double the size of the modern animal.
4. THE PLATYPUS IS A MONOTREME—WHICH MEANS “SINGLE HOLE” IN GREEK.
Platypuses are one of only five species of extant monotremes—just them and four species of echidna—which split from the rest of the mammals 166 million years ago. These egg-laying mammals get their name from the hole that serves as both an anus and a urino-genital opening. In 2008, scientists deciphered the entire DNA of the duck-billed platypus and determined that, in accordance with the animal’s somewhat bizarre appearance, the platypus shared genes with reptiles, birds, and mammals.
5. PLATYPUSES NURSE WITHOUT NIPPLES.
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Although platypuses are born out of leathery eggs, the babies nurse from their mother. Female platypuses, however, don’t have nipples. Instead, their milk is released out of mammary gland ducts on their abdomen. The babies drink it up by sucking it out the folds of their mother's skin, or her fur.
6. MALE PLATYPUSES HAVE VENOMOUS SPURS.
Platypuses are one of just a few venomous mammals, which is one of their more reptilian characteristics. But unlike snakes, a platypus’s venom isn’t in his teeth. Instead, males have a hollow spur on each hind leg from which venom is dispensed—but only sometimes. Although the spur itself is always there, the venom gland to which it is connected is seasonally-activated and only produces venom during mating season, indicating that its use is for fending off competing males.
7. PLATYPUSES HAVE RETRACTABLE WEBBING.
Although they can only stay submerged in water for a few minutes—they are mammals, after all—platypuses are much better suited to scooting around in water than they are on land. Much like an otter, they prune their thick coat to add air bubbles that act as insulation in the cool rivers where they hunt. Out on land, the platypus's short limbs mean it has to exert 30 percent more energy than a similarly sized land-based mammal just to move around. All that said, they do have one particular adaptation to ease their terrestrial travel: The webbing between their front claws—a boon when paddling through streams—retracts when the platypus ambles up the riverbank to expose sharp claws.
8. SCIENTISTS THOUGHT THE FIRST KNOWN PLATYPUS WAS A HOAX.
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When the first platypus specimen was sent back to England from Australia in the late 18th century, the scientists who examined it thought that someone was playing a trick on them. "It naturally excites the idea of some deceptive preparation by artificial means," zoologist George Shaw wrote in the first scientific description of the platypus, published in 1799. One of the most remarkable and weird aspects of the platypus—its ability to lay eggs—wasn’t discovered for another 100 years.
9. PLATYPUSES USE GRAVEL AS MAKESHIFT TEETH.
Platypuses don’t have teeth inside their bill, which makes it difficult to chew some of their favorite foods—but they have worked out a pretty ingenious solution. Along with worms, insects, shellfish, and whatever else these bottom-feeders scoop up to make a meal out of, the platypus also picks up gravel from the riverbed. The platypus packs it all into pouches in his cheek to carry it up to the surface where it munches away, using the bits of gravel as makeshift teeth to break up tougher food.
10. PLATYPUSES USE THEIR TAILS FOR ALL SORTS OF THINGS.
Platypus
Scientific name: Ornithorhynchus anatinus