How is a platypus different from a penguin?

Answer 1

Differences between the platypus and the beaver are:

• A beaver is a rodent which bears live young; a platypus is a monotreme (egg-laying mammal)
• A beaver has large front teeth; platypuses have a bill with no teeth, but grinding plates
• Platypuses live in Australia and beavers live in North America and Canada.
• A platypus digs a burrow in the side of a riverbank or creekbank, with an extra chamber at the end for incubating and raising its young; a beaver chews down trees to eat and makes a dam to raise its young.
• The platypus is the only venomous mammal - the male has a spur on its hind leg with which to inject poison that is extremely painful and has long-lasting effects
• The beaver's tail is broader and flatter than a platypus's, and covered with special scales. The platypus's tail is covered with dense fur.
• Their tails serve different purposes. The beaver's tail is used to help propel it along in the water. The platypus's tail is used as a rudder, for steering when it is swimming, but it also stores fat. A thicker tail is the sign of a healthier platypus.

Answer 2

To begin with, a platypus is a mammal and a penguin is a bird. this means the platypus feeds its young on mothers' milk, but the penguin does not. It also means that platypuses have a body covering of fur, while the penguin has feathers.

Platypuses do not eat fish, unlike penguins. Platypuses also hunt for their food in fresh water, unlike the penguin that hunts for food in the ocean. The platypus range is restricted to eastern Australia; different species of penguins are found in a variety of locations throughout the Southern Hemisphere.

Answer 3

There are many differences between platypuses and seals, although they are both mammals which feed underwater.

• Platypuses must live in fresh water, while seals (with one exception) live in oceans and seas.
• Platypuses are monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, while seals are placental mammals, giving birth to live young.
• Platypuses are found only in Australia, while seals are found around the world.
• Platypuses feed on freshwater shrimp, insect larvae and annelid worms; seals primarily eat fish.
• Seals have teeth; platypuses have grinding plates which they use to crush their food before swallowing it.
• Platypuses dig deep burrows in riverbanks and creek banks for shelter. Seals neither dig nor build shelters, sheltering among sand dunes or on rocky beaches, or sometimes in snow dens.
• Seals are able to remain underwater for up to 20 minutes; when platypuses swim, they can only stay underwater for 1-2 minutes, or up to 8 minutes if they remain still.
• Platypuses find their food using sensitive electroreceptors in their bill; seals do not have or use electroreceptors.
• Platypuses are able to walk on land, and they have claws with retractable webbing; seals can only waddle along on flippers, rather than on actual legs.