Platypus

Common Name: Platypus, Duck-billed platypus

Scientific Name: Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Native to: Eastern Mainland Australia, Tasmania, and King Island

What does it look like: The Platypus is a very unique Australian species. Platypuses are mammals because they have warm blood and a backbone, grow hair, and feed their young with milk. We humans are mammals because we also have all of these characteristics! However, along with Echidnas, Platypuses are a unique mammal that lays eggs – known as monotremes. The Platypus has a distinctive body designed for their semi-aquatic lifestyle, meaning they live on land and in the water. It has a streamlined body and a broad, flat tail covered with brown, waterproof fur. Platypuses have two layers of fur to provide insulation, which keeps the animal warm. The underside of the animal can be a golden colour or a light grey colour. Platypuses also have short, webbed feet. This means that, unlike humans, their toes are connected by a thin piece of skin. This adaptation helps them to swim. Platypuses also have a soft, toothless bill. Male Platypuses have spurs on the inside of their back legs that produce a potent venom that can kill other animals that might attack them.

Habitat and Diet: The Platypus, a unique inhabitant of the eastern states of Australia, including Tasmania, is a semi-aquatic marvel. It spends around half its day resting in burrows that it cleverly digs into the earth at the water's edge. Female Platypus can dig extensive nesting burrows up to 20 meters long where they will lay their eggs. The other half of their day is a flurry of activity in the water, where they swim, dive, and tirelessly forage for food. As carnivores, they have a meat-based diet, devouring worms, larvae, shrimp, and yabby or crayfish. Platypus are dedicated to foraging for food, spending an average of 12 hours a day in this pursuit. 

STEM Fun Fact: Because of their crazy unique physical characteristics, when platypuses were first discovered by European scientists in 1799, they thought that it was a fake animal!