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The platypus uses its tail in a variety of ways. The tail of a platypus helps the animal to swim and acts as a rudder when it dives.
A platypus also stores most of its body fat in its tail to help it survive when food is limited, and to prepare for when the female must incubate her eggs and care for the young when they hatch.
During the breeding season, the female digs herself a chamber within her deep burrow, and this chamber is lined with leaves and other nesting material. The female with carry this nesting material rolled underneath her tail as she climbs up and down steep riverbanks.
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∙ 10y ago
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∙ 13y agoPlatypus claws are quite sharp. Their claws are used for digging, but they also have retractable membranes between them. The membranes help when they are swimming, and they are retracted when the platypus is digging its burrow.
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∙ 13y agoPlatypuses have fur because they are mammals - all mammals have either skin, fur or hair. In the case of platypuses, they need their fur for insulation, even during the summer months when water temperatures can remain quite cool.
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∙ 10y agoThe claws of a platypus serve a very important function. Platypuses have claws for digging their burrows for shelter. These claws have retractable membranes between them which help when they are swimming, and they are retracted when the platypus is digging its burrow, which may be up to 30 metres in length.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoFemales shead their claws males don't their claws are 1 inch long.
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoNo. The platypus's claws are not retractable. Platypuses have retractable webbing, which is deployed for swimming, but the claws do not retract.
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Do platypuses have hair or fur?
Platypuses have dense fur.
Do platypuses have fur on their feet?
Platypuses do not have fur on the actual webbed part of their feet. The fur on their feet reaches to the edge of the webbed part.
Do platypuses have hair?
The platypus has fur, which is essentially the same as fur. Platypuses have two layers of fur: an outer layer of waterproof fur over a layer of downy fur. It covers all of the platypus's body except for its feet.
Do male platypuses have darker fur than females?
No. Male platypuses do not have darker fur than females.
Are platypuses furry?
Yes. Platypuses are 'furry' in the sense that they have fur. They have two layers of fur, with the outer layer being dense, velvety and waterproof.
What do platypuses feel like?
Platypuses have dense, velvety fur. Their bill is leathery, not hard.
Can platypuses be blue?
No. Platypuses are never blue. Their fur is chocolate brown to grey above, and pinkish brown underneath.
Does a platypus have fur?
Yes. The fur of a platypus is dense and waterproof. At one stage, platypuses were hunted to near-extinction for their fur.
Are platypuses mammals or reptiles?
Platypuses are mammals. They are warm-blooded, unlike reptiles, and they have fur, unlike reptiles which have scaly skin. Platypuses are monotremes, meaning they are egg-laying mammals.
Do monotremes have fur?
Yes. Both types of monotremes - platypuses and echidnas - have fur and lay eggs. In addition, echidnas have sharp spines, but these protrude from its body through a layer of thick fur.
How many times does a platypus shed fur?
Platypuses do not undergo a major seasonal shedding of their fur, but do tend to shed fur after winter each year.
What mammal characteristics do platypuses have?
Platypuses feed their young on mothers' milkThey are warm-bloodedThey breathe air using lungsThey are covered with fur
