Platypuses

Most species of Australian mammals are nocturnal, and this is usually an adaptation over time to help them avoid their main predtaors, which are birds of prey and snakes.

Platypuses are mainly nocturnal feeders, and can usually only be observed at dawn and the in the very early morning, and dusk/late evening. This behaviour is known as "crepuscular".

The platypus uses its bill to find food. It closes its eyes when underwater, and uses its bill to detect movements. Equipped with electroreceptors, the sensitive bill can sense electrical impulses, even the tiniest of movements made by underwater crustaceans.

The bill is also used to shovel up the soil on the bottom of the river or creek in order to find the food. Once found, the platypus uses grinding plates in its bill, rather than teeth, to crush the food before eating it.

The platypus is found only in Australia. However, both species of echidna are found in New Guinea. The long-beaked echidna is found in New Guinea but not Australia, while the short-beaked echidna is found in a small corner of Papua New Guinea, but all over the Australian continent.

No. Platypuses can only be found in the eastern states of Australia.

Yes. 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.

Neither the male nor the female really sweats milk. The female produces milk for her young, but all mammals' mammary glands are just modified sweat glands. The difference is that female platypuses exude milk from several glands over their abdomen and since they do not have teats, the young have to drink it from the grooves into which it collects.

A platypus's burrow is its primary means of shelter. Quite simply, a platypus needs a burrow as its home. During breeding season, the female digs out a chamber at the end of her burrow, where she lays and incubates her eggs.

Platypuses in captivity have been recorded as living to at least 16 years. However, because they are such reclusive creatures, little research has been done on platypus lifespans in their natural state.

Whilst research has not yet established the life span of a platypus in the wild, it is believed to be about 10 years. It is estimated that, due to predation by goannas and snakes, platypuses in their natural habitat probably live closer to 4-5 years for males and 6-8 years for females.

The platypus is nothing like a bird.

It is an egg-laying mammal. The eggs it lays are soft-shelled and leathery, unlike a bird's eggs, which are hard-shelled. There are some general characteristics which are similar. Birds and platypuses are both air-breathing endothermic vertebrates. Birds and platypuses both have a cloaca, a single vent for both reproduction and waste.

You don't. Platypuses are a protected species and may not be hunted or killed.

A male platypus is 50-60 cm in length, whilst the female is smaller, averaging 40-50 cm in length. They are very lightly built creatures, with females weighing as little as 900 grams, and males 1700 grams to 2kg.

Until the early twentieth century, platypus were hunted for their fur. They are now protected by law throughout Australia. Never the less platypus still accidentally caught in yabby traps and drowned and regulations on the use of yabby traps were changed from 1 November 2003 to reduce their impact on native animals.

Platypuses are mammals so, like all mammals, they feed their young on mothers' milk.

The platypus is currently in no danger of extinction. Since being protected by law, it has a very good chance of survival.

Platypus courtship rituals involve the male chasing the female around in a circle. They have a complex system of side-passing, under-passing and over-passing each other, until the male finally grasps the female's tail in his bill, and they continue circling tightly until mating occurs.

Ants are eaten by many animals. Worms, spiders, anteaters and more. Even ants sometimes eat there own kind.

Platypuses hide in long burrows for protection. They disguise the entrance to the burrows by digging them beneath overhangs on the riverbank, or beneath tree roots. If platypuse are underwater and sense a predator outside, they will hold their breath and remain motionless for 8-10 minutes, waiting for the predator to leave. They are also nocturnal, ding most of their noting at night.

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.

Yes. The platypus is endemic to Australia, meaning it is not found anywhere else.

No. There are no killer platypuses/platypi. The male platypus possesses a poisonous spur on his hind leg which can incapacitate a human, causing agonising pain, but it is only enough to kill a small dog.

Yes and no. The 'forest' biome is generally not known as forest in Australia, as the country's native eucalyptus bushland is quite different to what is commonly thought of as forest.

Platypuses live throughout eastern coastal Australia and its island state of Tasmania, particularly within heavily wooded and protected regions. Platypuses live in native eucalyptus bushland as well as tropical, sub-tropical and temperate rainforests.

Yes. On average, platypuses can hold their breath for up to two minutes when hunting underwater, or longer if they remain still. However, in flood times, platypuses have been known to drown - particularly baby platypuses - when they are swept out of their burrows by floodwaters.