What is the difference between a platypus and a cat?

Answer 1

There are numerous differences.

• Platypuses are monotremes (egg-laying mammals) but monkeys are placental mammals, meaning they give birth to live young.
• Platypuses are native to Australia alone, while monkeys are found in Asia, Central and South America, and Africa.
• Platypuses live only in fresh water; monkeys live in trees on land.
• Platypuses feed on small invertebrates, crustaceans and insect larvae; monkeys are omnivores, feeding on fruit, leaves, insects and grubs.
• Platypuses have retractable webbing to help them swim; monkeys have no such feature, but they do have prehensile tails.
• Platypuses dig burrows for shelter, but monkeys do not.

Answer 2

The wombat is a marsupial, or pouched mammal, The platypus is a monotreme, an egg-laying mammal.

Wombats are herbivorous, feeding on grasses and sedges, but platypuses are carnivores which feed on insect larvae, annelid worms, crustaceans and other invertebrates.

Wombats find their food on land; platypuses find their food in the water.

Wombats have teeth, but platypuses don't. platypuses have bony grinding plates in the jaws, with which they crush their food.

Wombats do not have a visible tail, or one species has just the tiniest vestigial tail. Platypuses have a long, flat rudder-like tail.

While both wombats and platypuses have sharp claws with which they dig burrows, the platypus also has retractable webbing to help when it swims.

Answer 3

Some differences between platypuses and giraffes include:

Habitat

Platypuses are found only in eastern Australia. They shelter by digging burrows in riverbanks and creek banks, relying on the water for their food. Giraffes are found in Africa, and are completely land-dwelling animals.

Feeding habits

Platypuses are carnivores which eat small water animals such as aquatic insect larvae of caddisflies, mayflies and two-winged flies, fresh water shrimp, annelid worms, yabbies and crayfish. During summer, they eat more than during winter, in order to build up reserves of fat.

To catch their prey, platypuses make several hundred dives a day in order to catch enough food. They use the fine, sensitive electroreceptors on their bills, which detect the tiny electrical impulses made by underwater creatures. After locating their prey, they dig up the mud with their bill to grasp them, crushing the creatures between grinding plates in their bills.

Giraffes are herbivores and feed mainly on leaves, grazing on the foliage of trees in the African bush. They prefer plants of the Mimosa (acacia) genus and combretum species, but they feed on the leaves of over 100 varieties of plants.

They also eat berries and fruits from trees when they are in season. Their long necks enable them to reach the treetops, which are out of reach of other herbivores.

Reproduction

Platypuses reproduce by laying eggs, which hatch into young platypuses that initially feed off mothers' milk. The platypus is a monotreme, or egg-laying mammal, just like the echidna, and quite unique to Australia. Platypuses lay eggs in a chamber at the end of a burrow dug into a riverbank or next to a creek.

Giraffes are placental mammals, which means they give birth to live young.

Answer 4

A platypus is a native Australian mammal who is unique in which it lays eggs and has feet with retractable webbing. A cat is a common household pet in the feline family.