Platypuses

Platypuses communicate through a variety of vocalisations.The most common is a soft growling sound.

Platypuses do feed their young on mothers' milk, but the young do not suckle from teats. The mother platypus secretes milk from glands on her abdomen, which the young platypus drinks, but she does not develop teats.

Platypuses are endothermic. Platypuses are monotremes, which are egg-laying mammals, and all mammals are endothermic. This means that they regulate their body temperature by internal processes and that their body temperature is constant.

Platypuses are multicellular. All mammals, and indeed all vertebrates, are multicellular.

The platypus is not extinct. It is considered common, but vulnerable, in the only country in which it lives, which is Australia (including Australia's island state of Tasmania). It has never become totally extinct yet; nor has it ever been officially endangered. At one time, numbers were critically low due to the demand for the platypus's velvety pelt, but when official protection measures were brought in, its numbers saw a resurgence. It is now illegal to hunt them.

No.

Platypuses have two layers of fur, which is contrary to what some websites will report.

The layer closest to their skin is woolly and helps insulate the platypus against the cold water in which they live in the southern states and alpine areas. The outer layer is waterproof.

Yes. Being warm blooded mammals, not cold-blooded reptiles, platypuses do maintain a constant body temperature.

They do not have a diaphragm which is the characteristic feature of mammals exclusively in the animal kingdom. However, they do possess a structure known as Diaphragmaticus which acts as a piston during breathing process. It is however, not Homologous to diaphragm of mammals.

When scared, platypuses will do one of several things:

If they are in water, they will stay motionless for up to eight minutes, holding their breath, as they cannot breathe underwater. Their colouring enables them to camouflage, unseen by predators outside of the water.

If the platypus is out of the water, it will dive into the water. If its burrow is nearby, it will seek to escape to its safety. The entrance to its burrow is often disguised by overhanging roots or the shape of the riverbank.

The platypus is an unusual mammal in that it is hatched from an egg after about 8-10 days of incubation. It stays with the mother in the nesting chamber for several months before learning to hunt for food in the water. They are nocturnal creatures, which hunt for food at night. Platypuses reach reproductive age at around 2 years old.

The platypus is not rare, but it is elusive and very hard to glimpse in its natural state. It is not even endangered.

It is unknown how many platypuses are in the wild, because it is so difficult to do research on such an elusive animal, but sighting figures do indicate that the platypus has enjoyed a resurgence in numbers since becoming protected in the mid 1900s. Numbers are believed to be comparable to what they were when European settlement began.

No. The platypus is a protected, native Australian animal. It is illegal to have a platypus as a pet anywhere in the world, including Australia itself.

Also, one would not be able to provide the conditions it needs. It would die very quickly as platypuses are highly sensitive to ecological changes. Platypuses are native Australian animals, and therefore protected by law. They are not permitted to be kept as pets in Australia or any other country.

There are very few zoos overseas permitted to keep platypuses, and only a limited number of facilities in Australia keep them for either display or research purposes.

Platypuses do not actually live in the water. Platypuses find all their food in freshwater creeks, rivers and ponds, and they burrow into riverbanks for shelter. Their burrows can be up to 30 metres (100 feet) in length, but they are dug above the waterline.

No. It is illegal to have a platypus as a pet, and you would not be able to provide the conditions it needs. It would die very quickly as platypuses are highly sensitive to ecological changes. Platypuses are native Australian animals, and therefore protected by law. They are not permitted to be kept as pets in Australia or any other country.

There are currently no zoos overseas permitted to keep platypuses. Only a limited number of facilities in Australia keep them for either display or research purposes, and there are very strict government controls on the housing and keeping of these monotremes.

Yes: there are still many places in eastern Australia where platypuses live in the wild.

Although platypuses were close to extinction early in the twentieth century, due to them being hunted for their velvety fur, they are now protected, and their numbers have returned to around the same that they were estimated to be prior to European settlement. They are very difficult to see in the wild, because they are shy and reclusive. They can be found throughout Australia's eastern states, and the island state of Tasmania.

platypus eggs are the color well id say white

Platypuses have two layers of fur, which is contrary to what some websites will report.

The layer closest to their skin is woolly and helps insulate the platypus against the cold water in which they live in the southern states and alpine areas. The outer layer is waterproof.

Contrary to popular belief, a platypus's tail is not like a beaver's tail. It is squat and furry, and when the platypus is healthiest, the tail is fatter.

It does not look like a flipper; nor is it used as one.

Platypus live alongside (but not "in") in freshwater creeks and rivers. They live in burrows they dig along the banks of the creek or river that they use as a food source.

The entrance is usually disguised by overhang from the riverbank, or by tree roots and/or other vegetation. They are difficult to see, which is precisely what the platypus wants.

Burrows can extend into the soft earth for up to 33 metres (100 feet). The female digs a burrow with a chamber at the end where she lays and incubates her eggs.

When first hatched, platypuses weigh barely a couple of grams, or about 0.002 kg. When fully grown, platypuses vary tremendously in size, from just 600grams to 2.4kg. Males are always much larger than females. On average, females are around 800-900 grams (0.8 to 0.9 kg) and males vary from 1.6 to 2.4kg.

All mammals suckle their young. That is one of the defining characteristics that makes them mammals. Even egg-laying mammals (monotremes which include the platypus and echidna) suckle their young.

The platypus is completely covered, from head to foot, with thick, velvety, waterproof fur. Its legs are also furry.

Male Platypuses have ankle spurs on their hind legs through which they can dispense venom composed largely of defensin-like proteins (DLPs), unique to the Platypus. This venom is powerful enough to kill smaller animals, and to cause agonising pain to humans.

Platypuses also dig burrows into riverbanks. These burrows are only large enough for smaller predators to enter, but they do not provide protection from snakes. The burrows may extend into a riverbank as far as 30 m (100 feet).

Yes and no. Platypuses have the normal five sense - sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell - but they also have an extra "sense". In their bill they have tiny electroreceptors (hence, the sense of electroreception) which enable them to detect the tiny electrical impulses of crustaceans and insect larvae on which they feed in the water.