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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
Why is the platypus a chordate?
A chordate is any animal that has a notochord or spinal chord. Any animal that is a vertebrate, i.e. mammals, birds, fish, reptiles or amphibians, is a chordate, or member of the phylum Chordata. As the platypus is a mammal, this includes platypuses as well.
Are there platypuses in southeastern Pennsylvania?
No. Platypuses are found only in eastern Australia.
A platypus is not a habitat. A platypus lives in a habitat.
Platypuses live near freshwater creeks and rivers in heavily wooded and protected regions of eastern Australia. Their habitat is bushland as well as tropical, sub-tropical and temperate rainforests. 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.
The cloaca is the external opening from the platypus's body, for both waste elimination and for reproduction.
The platypus is a monotreme. The term monotreme is derived from two Greek words meaning "one-holed", because they have just one opening, which is the cloaca. The cloaca leads to the urinary, faecal and reproductive tracks, all of which join internally, and it is the orifice by which the female montreme lays her eggs.
Does a platypus have a spike on their foot?
Adult male platypuses have venomous (not poisonous) spurs on their ankles.
Through these spurs, they can deliver a venom strong enough to kill a small dog, and to cause almost paralysing agony to an adult human. Platypus venom contains a protein which lowers blood pressure, also inducing shock.
People who have been "spurred" by a platypus report that the pain is strong enough to cause vomiting that may last for days, weeks or sometimes even months. The pain cannot be relieved by morphine and other standard pain-killing drugs. It seems the only way it can be relieved is through anaesthesia of the main nerve from the spur site.
What would attack a platypus egg?
Lizards such as goannas are the most likely predators of platypus eggs.
Are platypuses' webbed feet sharp?
Yes. Platypuses' webbed feet have sharp claws. The claws are to enable the platypus to dig its burrows. When digging, the platypus's webbing retracts to expose its sharp claws, and to protect the webbing membrane.
What mammal has venomous spurs on the hind limb?
Adult male platypuses have venomous spurs on their ankles. Through this spur, they can deliver a poison strong enough to kill a small dog, and to cause almost paralysing agony to an adult human. Platypus venom contains a protein which lowers blood pressure, inducing shock.
In Avatar: The Last Airbender, the platypus bear is a large mammal found throughout the Earth Kingdom. It is a creature which has a large bill lined with jagged teeth and also has a beaver-like tail. Its front paws have claws and it has large, webbed hind feet. The platypus bear is capable of standing upright and lays eggs rather than giving birth to live young. It is based on a mixture of a platypus and a bear in one animal.
What organisms would compete with a platypus for food?
No other organisms compete with the platypus for food. Its feeding habits and its habitat are unique. No other mammal feeds on the variety of freshwater crustaceans and other invertebrates for which the platypus forages. In wetland areas, only freshwater wading birds have a similar diet, but the platypus prefers clear rivers, lakes and creeks rather than wetlands for its habitat.
What does the modern group designated as the Animal kingdom typically contain?
The modern group designated as the animal kingdom typically contains multicellular organisms that pursue and ingest other organisms. They usually cannot make their own food.
What other animals reproduce like the platypus?
The platypus is a monotreme, which is an egg-laying mammal. The only other animal in this group is the echidna. There are two species of echidna: the short-beaked echidna, which is found in Australia, just like the platypus; and the long-beaked echidna, which is only found on the island of New Guinea.
The platypus and echidna are the only mammals that?
The platypus and the echidna are the only two egg-laying mammals in existence. They are classed as monotremes.They are still classified as mammals because they feed their young on mothers' milk - a characteristic unique to mammals alone.
Where do platypuses make their burrows?
Platypuses make their burrows in the banks of freshwater creeks and rivers in eastern Australia. These burrows are dug above the waterline, in order for the platypus to remain dry when it is not searching for food. They are difficult to detect as they are often disguised by overhanging tree roots, or part of the riverbank.
How much does it cost to feed a platypus for a year?
Since the average person cannot have a platypus, the question is moot.
Regarding zoos and animal sanctuaries, costs of running a suitable environment - including equipping it with food - for the platypus are considerable.
Which other groups can a platypus could be put in?
There is no other group that a platypus could be placed into. It is a mammal, by virtue of the fact that it feeds its young on mothers' milk which is secreted from mammary glands. No other animal group does this. Also, mammals are the only group of animals that have fur or hair. platypuses have fur, so they are mammals.
Does a platypus have a streamlined body shape?
Yes. Like many semi-aquatic mammals, the platypus has a streamlined body. This enables the platypus to swim and dive faster.
Is a platypus's burrow sandy or muddy?
Neither. The platypus's burrow is dry earth, dry soil. They do not burrow in sand as it will not support the tunnel. Neither do they dig in mud. Their burrow is dug above the waterline of a creek or river, and remains dry inside.
Yes. Monotremes are egg-laying mammals; this group of mammals includes just platypuses and echidnas.
What dangers are there to platypuses?
Platypuses, like all animals, are up against some dangers that threaten their survival.
Platypuses have few natural predators in the wild, because they mainly hunt underwater and live in hidden shelters, from tropical north regions to the sub-alpine areas of southern Australia.
The introduction of red foxes as a predator for rabbits may have had some impact on platypus numbers on the mainland. Feral cats are another platypus predator, but the platypus's principal enemies are humans. Humans used to hunt them for their fur, but they are now protected. The danger is now not from hunting, but from destruction of their environment. Also, the use of fishing nets in freshwater creeks and rivers resulted in large numbers being drowned, but this practice has been banned. So, technically, man is not the platypus's predator because he does not eat it, but he is a threat to the platypus. The platypuses were and are affected by man but not eaten by him.
Natural predators of the platypus include snakes, water rats, goannas, spotted quolls, eels, hawks, owls and eagles. In the north of its range, dingoes are another predator. Lower platypus numbers in far northern Australia are possibly due to predation by crocodiles. On occasion, large eels have been thought to take platypuses, which may be only half the length of a freshwater eel.
Another threat to the platypus is flooding. Young platypuses may be washed out of their burrows when floodwaters come, and few of these survive.
Tasmanian platypuses are subject to platypus fungal disease, or Mucormycosis. This fungal disease causes ugly skin lesions or ulcers to develop on various parts of the platypus's body, including their backs, tails and legs. These lesions become quite large, and are ultimately fatal. Death comes from secondary infection, and from the fact that the platypus's ability to maintain body temperature and forage efficiently for food is affected. It's not yet known how the disease spreads from platypus to platypus, but the mainland creatures are not affected.
What is the main food source for a platypus?
Platypuses eat small water animals such as aquatic insect larvae of caddisflies, mayflies and two-winged flies, fresh water shrimp, annelid worms, yabbies and crayfish.
What is the nickname for Monotremata?
There is no nickname for Monotremata which is a family of mammals incorporating the platypus and the echidna.
