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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
Are there platypus in Missouri?
Of course not. Platypuses are endemic to Australia, meaning they are found only in that country.
What are all the adaptations the platypus has to make it successful in its habitat?
The platypus has a number of specific adaptations which enable it to live and hunt in its habitat. It has:
- Webbed feet with a retracting webbed membrane which can expose the claws, enabling the platypus to effectively dig burrows. Its claws are used for digging burrows into riverbanks for shelter, and the webbing membrane retracts for that purpose, but spreads between its toes when it needs to swim - which it needs to do to get its food.
- The platypus can remain underwater for between one and five minutes. Its bill has sensitive electroreceptors which pick up tiny nerve and electrical impulses generated by crustaceans and other animals that inhabit the bottom of the creek or river. The platypus then uses its bill to shovel away the dirt, and find the food. It does not have teeth, but hard bony plates which it uses to grind the food.
- The platypus lays eggs (as does the echidna), unlike other mammals. However, it secretes mothers' milk through glands, rather than teats, on which the young feed after hatching.
- The platypus is a semi-aquatic animal, with thick, waterproof fur.
- It has a flat, beaver-like tail which acts as a rudder
- 2 eye lids for protection
- Males have venomous spurs on their hind legs to harm or kill predators
- The liver gets rid of water but stores fat
- During mating season, the female platypus digs a separate chamber at the end of her burrow. The eggs are laid here, and once hatched, the mother "closes off" the chamber with a wall of leaves when she leaves, to protect the young. The wall of leaves is also designed in such a way that it helps remove excess water from the platypus when she returns, thus keeping the chamber as dry as possible.
What is the platypus a mixture of?
The platypus is not a mixture of anything. It is an entirely self-contained mammal, specifically a monotreme, which is an egg-laying mammal. It happens to have a bill which some believe resembles that of a duck, but is in fact much broader than a duck's bill, and which is equipped with electro-receptors with which it can locate food. It also has webbed feet with retractable webbing to expose its claws for digging - again, nothing like a duck's feet. It has a flat tail which some believe to be similar to that of a beaver, but it is not.
The platypus is a monotreme, one of three extant species, the other two being the short beaked echidna and the long-beaked echidna, of which there are four recognised sub-species. Albeit bizarre, the platypus is simply a creature of adaptation.
Can a platypus live in Louisiana?
The platypus is not indigenous to Louisiana, so it would naturally not be endangered there.
In fact, the platypus is not endangered anywhere in the world. The Australian Government lists the platypus as "common but vulnerable". The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the platypus as "least concern".
How long does platypus eggs hatch?
Platypuses are one of only two types of mammals to lay eggs. Fertilised platypus eggs stay in the mother's body for around 28 days. The egg is incubated by the mother curling around it and keeping it warm and dry in the chamber of the burrow for another 10 days.
Generally, hawks are protected in many countries, but it depends on the species and the country.
In North America, species such as the Red-tailed Hawk and Common Black Hawk are protected through much of their range.
In Australia, the Christmas Island hawk and other native hawks are protected throughout the country.
Why does a platypus store fat inside of its tail?
Platypuses do not always have a big tail. The size of a platypus's tail is a indication of how healthy it is, and how much food has been available. A platypus 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.
The tail is also useful for other purposes, and needs to be a good size in order to perform these functions. 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. In addition, the tail of a platypus helps the animal to swim and acts as a rudder when it dives.
Where is the Platypus's habitat and what food do they eat?
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. Platypuses live in burrows that they dig on the banks of freshwater creeks, rivers, lakes and dams.
They spend their time searching for food in rivers and lakes, and are thus considered semi-aquatic. Platypuses are carnivores. They are predators; they 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.
How long does the mother and father platypus stay together?
To begin with, baby platypuses only stay with their mother. The father has nothing to do with raising the young.
Baby platypuses suckle from their mother for three to four months. They then spend several more months with the mother, learning to hunt. Young platypuses stay with their mother for up to a year.
Can platypuses live in Wisconsin?
No. Platypuses are uniquely adapted to live in the country and continent of Australia.
Warm blooded animal that lays eggs?
Warm blooded animals which lay eggs are birds and monotremes.
All birds lay eggs.
Monotremes are a small group of mammals which lay eggs. This group is made up of only the platypus and the two species of echidna.
Platypuses like to eat toenails, and they will chew up you curtains and carpet, leaving dents in you floor by hitting there tail on the floor. They will attack you if you look at them or touch them. they all have red eyes,.
How much room does a platypus need to survive?
Platypuses which are kept in carefully maintained sanctuaries, in environments which emulate their natural habitat, and able to survive in areas smaller than a standard room. In the wild, of course, their range is much wider.
What is female platypus's lifespan?
Platypuses do not get pregnant, as they are one of only two types of mammals to lay eggs (the other is the echidna).
Fertilised platypus eggs stay in the mother's body for around 28 days, although lack of research means this has not been determined definitively. The eggs are incubated by the mother curling around them and keeping them warm and dry in the chamber of the burrow for another 10 days.
Not at all. As of 2016, platypuses are not even endangered. The platypus is a protected species, and its current conservation status is Least Concern.
The platypus is one of a group of animals called monotremes - mammals ( as they suckle young with milk and have fur) in all descriptions, except that instead of giving birth to live young, they lay eggs like reptiles or birds. Another monotreme is the Echidna or 'spiny anteater'.
Platypuses are, however, notoriously shy, and are found only in Australia. They are found right along the eastern coast of Australia, from the tropical and sub-tropical rainforests of the north, through the alpine region of New South Wales and Victoria, and down throughout the island state of Tasmania. They are found only in freshwater lakes, creeks and rivers.
Platypuses are evasive creatures, essentially nocturnal, and often difficult to find. Whilst scientists have had difficulty conducting research on platypuses, due to their evasiveness, they are certainly not extinct. It is believed that now, despite the downturn in the platypus population in the first half of the 20th century, platypus numbers are approximately what they were prior to European settlement. They are protected by law, and opportunities for viewing them are strictly controlled. To see them you must keep well back from the water, and on no account let yourself be silhouetted against the sky. Use binoculars, look for a disturbance on the surface, then watch the Platypus swimming away from it just below the surface.
What does platypus mean in Latin?
The scientific name (sometimes also called the Latin name) of the platypus is ornithorhynchus anatinus.
How old is a platypus when they die?
The oldest known platypus in captivity lived to the age of 17, but it is estimated that their lifespan is closer to 10-12 years. Little research has been done on platypuses because they are so elusive. Platypuses start reproducing from around the age of two, and they have been known to still be reproducing at age 9.
What is the classification of a platypus?
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Monotremata
Family: Ornithorhynchidae
Genus: Ornithorhynchus
Species: Ornithorhynchus anatinus
How many platypuses are killed?
It is not known how many platypuses are killed each year, but it is not as many as there used to be. Platypuses are no longer hunted for their pelts, and fewer of them are drowned in fishing nets as laws have come into effect to help protect them more. Floodwaters kill platypuses - they are mammals, and must breathe air, and young or weak platypuses can quickly drown in fast-moving floodwaters.
What is the difference between a dolphin and a platypus?
A duck is a bird. It has feathers and can fly.
A Platypus is a completely different animal. It is a monotreme (egg-laying mammal) with a bill, fur and a thick, beaver-like tail.
Other differences include:
- The platypus's bill is flatter and broader than a duck's, and serves a quite different function. It is equipped with electroreceptors, with which it detects the electrical impulses of tiny crustaceans, and it uses its bill to shovel away the dirt and mud to reach its food.
- The platypus is completely carnivorous, but a duck is omnivorous, feeding on aquatic plant life as well as insects, small fish, worms and small amphibians.
- While ducks have permanently webbed feet, the platypus has retractable webbing on its feet. The webbing is there to help it swim, but it retracts when the platypus needs to dig its burrow.
- Platypuses live and raise their young in burrows dug in the side of riverbanks. Ducks do not burrow, but build nests in which to lay their eggs.
- Platypuses are unique to Australia. Ducks are found all over the world.
- Ducks migrate; platypuses do not.
What is unusual about a platypus?
To some, platypuses may be considered to be unusual because they are unique to Australia and one of only two types of mammals to lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. (The other type is the echidna.)
The platypus's appearance is also unusual - it has a flat, broad bill; a sleek and streamlined body; a short, thick tail; the male has a venomous spur, and its feet have retractable webbing. It uses its sensitive bill which is equipped with electroreceptors to find food underwater.
How long before platypus young are mature?
Young platypuses are old enough to leave their mother at about four months old, but they tend to stay with her until the next year's breeding season.
What don't female monotremes have?
Female monotremes are the only mammals which do not have nipples for the young mammals to suckle from. Monotremes, which are the echidnas and platypuses, feed their young on mothers' milk which is exuded from modified sweat glands, rather than from well-formed teats.
Female monotremes also do not have two external openings. They have just one external opening, the cloaca, for both waste elimination and for reproduction. The cloaca leads to the urinary, faecal and reproductive tracks, all of which join internally, and it is the orifice by which the female monotreme lays her eggs.
Why is a platypus called a monotreme?
Both platypuses and echidnas are monotremes. The name monotreme is derived from two Greek words meaning "one-holed", because they have just one external opening, the cloaca, for both waste elimination and for reproduction. The cloaca leads to the urinary, faecal and reproductive tracks, all of which join internally, and it is the orifice by which the female monotreme lays her eggs.
