Platypus
Ornithorhynchus anatinus
Platypuses have no stomachs; their esophagus connects directly to their intestines, and they use gravel scooped from the riverbed to grind up food because they lack teeth.
- Scientific name
- Ornithorhynchus anatinus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Mammalia › Monotremata › Ornithorhynchidae › Ornithorhynchus
- IUCN Red List status
- Near Threatened
- Population trend
- decreasing
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Freshwater rivers, creeks, lakes, and farm dams with earth banks suitable for burrowing.
- Diet
- Carnivorous; feeds on benthic invertebrates like insect larvae, shrimp, crayfish, and worms.
- Range
- Eastern Australia, Tasmania
- Size
- 38-50 cm (15-20 in) long, weighing 0.7-2.4 kg (1.5-5.3 lbs)
- Lifespan
- 10-15 years in the wild
- Active
- crepuscular
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, water extraction, dams, land clearing, pollution, and predation by invasive foxes and feral cats.
- Safe to approach?
- Platypuses are shy and defensive. While they pose no threat from a distance, adult males possess venomous spurs on their hind ankles. Maintain a safe distance of at least 10 meters and never attempt to handle or corner one. If spurred, seek immediate emergency medical help; the venom causes excruciating, long-lasting pain that is highly resistant to standard pain relievers.
The platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus ), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus , is a semiaquatic egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. The animal is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus ( Ornithorhynchus ), though a number of related species appear in the fossil...
Photo: no rights reserved, CC0, via iNaturalist
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