Platypus

Scientific Name: Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Semi-aquatic mammal that lays eggs

One of the few venomous mammals

Weight from 1.5 to 5.3 lb,

Length 17 in - 20 in

Appearance

Dense brown fur traps air for warmth

Uses tail for storage of fat reserves

Has webbed feet and a large, rubbery snout; similar to a duck

The snout of the Platypus is a sensory organ with the mouth on the underside.

When the Platypus was first discovered by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to the United Kingdom

The British scientists were at first convinced that the attributes must have been a hoax

It was thought that somebody had sewn a duck's beak

onto the body of a beaver-like animal.

Electrolocation

Monotremes mammals known to have a sense of electroreception:

Platypus locate prey in part by detecting electric fields generated by muscular contractions. The Platypus' electroreception is the most sensitive of any monotreme.

Closes its eyes, ears and nose each time it dives and digs in the bottom of streams with its bill.

The Platypus will react to an "artificial shrimp" if a small electrical current is passed through it

Reproduction

Lays one to three small, leathery eggs (similar to those of reptiles)

About 11 mm in diameter and slightly rounder than bird eggs

The eggs develop in utero for about 28 days with only about 10 days of external incubation (in contrast to a chicken egg, which spends about 1 day in tract and 21 days externally)

Conservation

The species was extensively hunted for its fur until the early years of the 20th century and, although protected throughout Australia in 1905, up until about 1950 it was still at risk of drowning in the nets of inland fisheries

The introduction of red foxes as a predator for rabbits may have had some impact on its numbers