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Platypuses
One of Australia's most unique and unusual native animals, the platypus is an egg-laying mammal which lives on land and hunts for food in the freshwater creeks and rivers of eastern Australia. Once incorrectly thought to be the most primitive mammal, it is now regarded as a superb example of adaptation. Questions and answers about platypuses can be found here.
996 Questions
What kind of beak does the platypus use?
The platypus does not have a beak. It has a bill.
The platypus's bill is covered with thousands of tiny electroreceptor cells, which enable it to detect the electrical impulses of tiny water-dwelling creatures. Once detected, the platypus then uses its bill to shovel the mud and get to the creatures, which form its main food source.
How long do platypuses remain with their mothers and feed on their milk?
Young platypuses remain with their mother, feeding on mothers' milk, for about four months (115-125 days).
Are platypuses diurnal or nocturnal?
Of the two choices, platypuses are nocturnal, being more active at night than during the day. However, they are crepuscular feeders, meaning they are particularly active diving for their food in the morning and the evening.
What color fur do platypuses have?
The colour of a platypus's fur is dark brown over most of its body, with a grey undercoat. Its belly is gold-coloured or silky grey.
Are monotremes either asymmetrical or symmetrical?
Symmetrical. All mammals and, indeed, all vertebrates, have bilateral symmetry.
Do male or female platypuses sting?
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.
Why are platypus half beaver and half duck?
Neither. A platypus is totally different from either - it lays eggs and has a bill that does not actually even resemble the bill of a duck, as it has completely different functions. The platypus is an egg-laying mammal, or monotreme, in the same family as e echidna. it is not related to the beaver, which is a placental mammal; nor is it related to the duck, which is not a mammal at all, but a bird.
The mythical creature known as the dragon is believed to reproduce by laying eggs. This apparently applies to all dragons.
How do placentals young develop?
The young of placental mammals develop within a placenta. The placenta is a thick membrane that is connected to the inside of the uterine wall. The umbilical cord connects the baby to the inside wall of the placenta. Nutrients and oxygen go from the mother's blood stream through the placenta, down the umbilical cord, and into the baby. The baby releases waste products and carbon dioxide, which travel up the umbilical cord, through the placenta and into the mother's blood stream.
Does the platypus live in England?
No. Platypuses are found only in the country and continent of Australia.
What is the most important thing to know if you want a platypus as a pet?
The most important thing to know is that it is illegal, and you cannot have a platypus as a pet.
Where else is Zegna menswear found?
The Zegna brand of menswear can be found at Zegna, Nordstrom, and Bluefly. Most higher end retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue should carry this brand.
What is a platypus male called?
There is no official name for a male or female platypus, just as there is no official name for the young, which are sometimes called platypups, not "puggles". The word "platypup" is not officially recognised as a legitimate term.
Can a person take venom out of a platypus?
No. A platypus's spur cannot be "milked" in the way a snake can be milked.
Is there a platypus beside the duck billed platypus?
No, the platypus is the only species. It is not actually known as the duck-billed platypus: this is just a nickname which only non-Australians use.
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Why is the platypus's reproduction so unusual?
The platypus's reproduction is quite different from that of most other mammals. Like other mammals, platypuses reproduce via sexual reproduction. However, after that the process becomes more unusual.
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. Their young, once hatched, drink milk from grooves on the mother's abdomen where it seeps from glands, rather than attaching to teats.
How are the spiny anteater and the platypus different from other mammals?
The correct name for the spiny anteater is echidna. The echidna and platypus are different from other mammals because they are the only egg-laying mammals. All other mammals, both placentals and marsupials, give live birth.
Where in Australia do platypuses live?
Platypuses live throughout eastern coastal Australia and its island state of Tasmania, particularly within heavily wooded and protected regions. They are found 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. Platypuses live in bushland as well as tropical, sub-tropical and temperate rainforests.
Where do platypuses keep their venom?
Platypus do not have a poisonous bite. Male platypuses have a venomous spur on each of their hind legs, through which they can deliver a poison strong enough to kill a small dog, and to cause almost paralysing agony to an adult human. The spur is actually hollow, and it is connected to a gland in the platypus's thigh which produces the venom. When the platypus injects an enemy, the venom is released.
How has the platypus changed over the years?
The platypus has changed very little over the years. Fossil evidence shows that earlier platypuses were larger, and had teeth. Apart from that, there have been no significant changes.
