How do platypuses adapt to their environment?

Answer 1

A platypus has webbing between its claws on its feet. Its claws are used for digging burrows into riverbanks for shelter, and the webbing membrane retracts for that purpose, but spreads between its toes when it needs to swim - which it needs to do to get its food.

The bill of a platypus has sensitive electroreceptors which pick up tiny nerve and electrical impulses generated by crustaceans and other animals that inhabit the bottom of the creek or river. The platypus then uses its bill to shovel away the dirt, and find the food. It does not have teeth, but hard bony plates which it uses to grind the food.

Male platypuses have a venomous spur on each of their hind legs, through which they can deliver a venom strong enough to kill a small dog, and to cause almost paralysing agony to an adult human. It is possible that a very small child could be killed (though a tiny child would be unlikely to engage in behaviour threatening to a platypus), and it is also possible that the shock of the pain in an unhealthy, weakened adult could well result in their death. Also, platypus venom contains a protein which lowers blood pressure, also inducing shock.

Platypuses also have certain behaviours to aid the survival of their young. During mating season, the female platypus digs a separate chamber at the end of her burrow. The eggs are laid here, and once hatched, the mother "closes off" the chamber with a wall of leaves when she leaves, to protect the young. The wall of leaves is also designed in such a way that it helps remove excess water from the platypus when she returns, thus keeping the chamber as dry as possible.

Answer 2

Platypuses live in the warm-temperate and cool-temperate climates of Australia, and can survive extremes of the tropical far north and the of freshwater creeks on sub-alpine mountain slopes. They have a number of adaptations to help them.

• Webbed feet with a retracting webbed membrane which can expose the claws, enabling the platypus to effectively dig burrows. Its claws are used for digging burrows into riverbanks for shelter, and the webbing membrane retracts for that purpose, but spreads between its toes when it needs to swim - which it needs to do to get its food.
• The platypus can remain underwater for between one and five minutes. Its bill has sensitive electroreceptors which pick up tiny nerve and electrical impulses generated by crustaceans and other animals that inhabit the bottom of the creek or river. The platypus then uses its bill to shovel away the dirt, and find the food. It does not have teeth, but hard bony plates which it uses to grind the food.
• The platypus lays eggs (as does the echidna), unlike other mammals. However, it secretes mothers' milk through glands, rather than teats, on which the young feed after hatching.
• The platypus is a semi-aquatic animal, with thick, waterproof fur.
• It has a flat, beaver-like tail which acts as a rudder
• 2 eye lids for protection
• Males have venomous spurs on their hind legs to harm or kill predators
• The liver gets rid of water but stores fat

Platypuses also have certain behaviours to aid the survival of their young. During mating season, the female platypus digs a separate chamber at the end of her burrow. The eggs are laid here, and once hatched, the mother "closes off" the chamber with a wall of leaves when she leaves, to protect the young. The wall of leaves is also designed in such a way that it helps remove excess water from the platypus when she returns, thus keeping the chamber as dry as possible.

Answer 3

The platypus's needs for survival, as with all creatures, include food, water and shelter.

The platypus needs a clean, freshwater creek with a ready food supply, as platypuses must eat the equivalent of 20% their own body weight every day, while lactating females need up to 100% of their own bodyweight in food.

Platypuses are carnivores that eat small water animals such as aquatic insect larvae, fresh water shrimp, annelid worms, yabbies and crayfish. In order to meet this need, they must make hundreds of dives in freshwater creeks and rivers in a single day. The bill of a platypus has sensitive electroreceptors which pick up tiny nerve and electrical impulses generated by crustaceans and other animals that inhabit the bottom of the creek or river. The platypus then uses its bill to shovel away the dirt, and find the food.

Platypuses also need shelter. They live in burrows that they dig on the banks of freshwater creeks, rivers, lakes and dams. The female digs a chamber at the end of a long burrow where she shelters her young.

Answer 4

Platypuses do not need to adapt to their environment. They are already equipped with all the adaptations they need to survive.

Platypuses have webbed feet with a retracting webbed membrane which can expose the claws, enabling the platypus to effectively dig burrows. Its claws are used for digging burrows into riverbanks for shelter, and the webbing membrane retracts for that purpose, but spreads between its toes when it needs to swim - which it needs to do to get its food.

The platypus can remain underwater for between one and five minutes. Its bill has sensitive electroreceptors which pick up tiny nerve and electrical impulses generated by crustaceans and other animals that inhabit the bottom of the creek or river. The platypus then uses its bill to shovel away the dirt, and find the food. It does not have teeth, but hard bony plates which it uses to grind the food.

The platypus lays eggs (as does the echidna), unlike other mammals. However, it secretes mothers' milk through glands, rather than teats, on which the young feed after hatching. During mating season, the female platypus digs a separate chamber at the end of her burrow. The eggs are laid here, and once hatched, the mother "closes off" the chamber with a wall of leaves when she leaves, to protect the young. The wall of leaves is also designed in such a way that it helps remove excess water from the platypus when she returns, thus keeping the chamber as dry as possible.
Platypus is perfectly designed for underwater life, it has two layers of fur - the first is short and dense and never lets water through to the skin. The second is longer and is the layer of fur that gets wet. Platypus has the flat furry tail which stores fat for long cold winter in freezing waters.

The Platypus has among the strangest of adaptations suiting it to its environment. These are divided into 3 main categories, some of which overlap - physical, physiological and behavioral.

The adaptions are physical part of the animal. If platypus did not have these adaptions if its fur gets wet, it would not keep platypus warm. Also if platypus did not have sensitive beak, it would not find food. And if it did not have tail that stores fat for winter, it would not survive a winter.

There are no other animal in this environment that have similar adaptions.

Answer 5

The platypus stands a better chance of survival than many other Australian native animals do. Despite being a fragile creature that is sensitive to habitat loss, pollution and other environmental disturbances, the platypus appears to have roughly the same numbers in the wild as it did early in European settlement (apart from its disappearance entirely from South Australia). It is protected by law, a necessary step since it was hunted nearly to extinction in the early part of the twentieth century, being valued for its fur.

Currently, the status of the platypus is listed "common but vulnerable" by the government of Australia.

The platypus has numerous adaptations which help to ensure its survival within its semi-aquatic environment. It has:

• Webbed feet with a retracting webbed membrane which can expose the claws, enabling the platypus to effectively dig burrows. Its claws are used for digging burrows into riverbanks for shelter, and the webbing membrane retracts for that purpose, but spreads between its toes when it needs to swim - which it needs to do to get its food.
• The platypus can remain underwater for between one and five minutes. Its bill has sensitive electroreceptors which pick up tiny nerve and electrical impulses generated by crustaceans and other animals that inhabit the bottom of the creek or river. The platypus then uses its bill to shovel away the dirt, and find the food. It does not have teeth, but hard bony plates which it uses to grind the food.
• The platypus lays eggs (as does the echidna), unlike other mammals. However, it secretes mothers' milk through glands, rather than teats, on which the young feed after hatching.
• The platypus is a semi-aquatic animal, with thick, waterproof fur.
• It has a flat, beaver-like tail which acts as a rudder
• 2 eye lids for protection
• Males have venomous spurs on their hind legs to harm or kill predators
• The liver gets rid of water but stores fat
• During mating season, the female platypus digs a separate chamber at the end of her burrow. The eggs are laid here, and once hatched, the mother "closes off" the chamber with a wall of leaves when she leaves, to protect the young. The wall of leaves is also designed in such a way that it helps remove excess water from the platypus when she returns, thus keeping the chamber as dry as possible.

Answer 6

Platypuses live in the warm-temperate and cool-temperate climates of Australia, and can survive extremes of the tropical far north and the of freshwater creeks on sub-alpine mountain slopes. They have a number of adaptations to help them.

• Webbed feet with a retracting webbed membrane which can expose the claws, enabling the platypus to effectively dig burrows. Its claws are used for digging burrows into riverbanks for shelter, and the webbing membrane retracts for that purpose, but spreads between its toes when it needs to swim - which it needs to do to get its food.
• The platypus can remain underwater for between one and five minutes. Its bill has sensitive electroreceptors which pick up tiny nerve and electrical impulses generated by crustaceans and other animals that inhabit the bottom of the creek or river. The platypus then uses its bill to shovel away the dirt, and find the food. It does not have teeth, but hard bony plates which it uses to grind the food.
• The platypus lays eggs (as does the echidna), unlike other mammals. However, it secretes mothers' milk through glands, rather than teats, on which the young feed after hatching.
• The platypus is a semi-aquatic animal, with thick, waterproof fur.
• It has a flat, beaver-like tail which acts as a rudder
• 2 eye lids for protection
• Males have venomous spurs on their hind legs to harm or kill predators
• The liver gets rid of water but stores fat

Platypuses also have certain behaviours to aid the survival of their young. During mating season, the female platypus digs a separate chamber at the end of her burrow. The eggs are laid here, and once hatched, the mother "closes off" the chamber with a wall of leaves when she leaves, to protect the young. The wall of leaves is also designed in such a way that it helps remove excess water from the platypus when she returns, thus keeping the chamber as dry as possible.

Answer 7

Platypuses do not live in climatic extremes, so no special adaptations are needed.

Platypuses are found in a variety of temperatures and climates, from the cooler sub-alpine areas in the south, such as Victoria and the Tasmanian highlands, north through New South Wales to tropical far north Queensland. They can survive extremes of heat that occur in Victorian summers as well as the cold winters. Platypuses live in bushland as well as tropical, sub-tropical and temperate rainforests.

They can cope with Australia's varying air temperatures from as cool as well below 5 degrees Celsius at night to up to around 40 degrees Celsius during hot summer days.

Answer 8

Platypuses have no difficulty surviving the Australian winter. They continue to hunt for food during the night, diving in creeks and rivers to find their food. During the day, they sleep in their burrows dug into the riverbank. The temperature in their habitat does not change significantly during winter, as water temperatures and ground temperatures do not change as much as the air temperature changes. Platypuses also have a double layer of insulating fur to help keep them warm and dry at their skin level.

Answer 9

The platypus has a number of unique adaptations which enable it to live in a semi-aquatic ecosystem. It is found near freshwater creeks and rivers, within bushland, alpine or sub-tropical areas.

The ecosystem helps the platypus survive because it provides the food this animal needs. The platypus dives into creeks and rivers for its food. Its bill has sensitive electroreceptors which pick up tiny nerve and electrical impulses generated by crustaceans and other animals that inhabit the bottom of the creek or river. The platypus then uses its bill to shovel away the dirt, and find the food. It does not have teeth, but hard bony plates which it uses to grind the food.

The platypus has webbed feet which help it to swim, and which have a retracting webbed membrane which can expose the claws, enabling the platypus to effectively dig burrows in riverbanks for shelter, and the webbing membrane retracts for that purpose, but spreads between its toes when it needs to swim - which it needs to do to get its food.

During mating season, the female platypus digs a separate chamber at the end of her burrow. The eggs are laid here, and once hatched, the mother "closes off" the chamber with a wall of leaves when she leaves, to protect the young. The wall of leaves is also designed in such a way that it helps remove excess water from the platypus when she returns, thus keeping the chamber as dry as possible.

A male platypus has a venomous spur on each of its rear ankles. These spurs inject a venom which causes agonising, paralysing pain to the recipient, and is an effective means of defence against any predators.

Answer 10

Platypuses have no difficulty surviving the Australian winter. They continue to hunt for food during the night, diving in creeks and rivers to find their food. During the day, they sleep in their burrows dug into the riverbank. The temperature in their habitat does not change significantly during winter, as water temperatures and ground temperatures do not change as much as the air temperature changes. Platypuses also have a double layer of insulating fur to help keep them warm and dry at their skin level.