These spurs are connected via a long duct to a venom-producing gland. Image credit: John Carnemolla/shutterstockĪlthough some describe the platypus as cute, the male platypus is in fact armed with sharp, calcaneus stingers on the heels of its hind feet. Without teeth, the platypus is a bottom feeder and must store its catch in its cheek pouches, before returning to the surface to smash up its meal before finally swallowing it. Shellfish, worms, and other insects are top of the menu, with the platypus able to close the watertight seals on its nostrils so it can stay underwater for up to two minutes while hunting. The platypus uses these specialised nerve endings called electroreceptors, to find its prey, as they can detect any tiny electrical current that is generated by the muscle contractions of an animal or insect. Hunting for food, the platypus closes its eyes and ears and relies on its amazing duck-like bill, a supersonic organ that is completely covered in sensors. Image credit: Martin Pelanek/shutterstock Platypus take cover in earth banks and botanical vegetation near the edges of waterways. An ideal home for the platypus is a river or stream with earth banks and botanical vegetation that provides shade and cover near the edges of the waterway. Their habitats range from the tropical rainforest lowlands and plateaus of Far North Queensland to the cold, high altitudes of the Australian Alps and as far south as Tasmania. Platypuses make their home in freshwater rivers, wetlands, and billabongs across Australia. Platypus are well suited to semi-aquatic life. And if this rare amalgamation of animal parts isn’t enough to impress the toughest animal enthusiast amongst us, the fact that the male platypus is also listed as one of the world’s few venomous mammals, just might. With a bill and webbed feet like a duck, a flat tail like a beaver (where it stores fat reserves) and the furry body of an otter, the platypus is well suited to semi-aquatic life. Along with the echidna, the platypus has a classification all its own, and is considered a monotreme which is an order of mammal that lays eggs. The end result? A unique Australian species that once had scientists stumped as to what it really was. One of the more unusual animals on record, the platypus is a true combination of bits of this and bits of that. Ranging in size depending on their location, males are larger than females and can measure over 60cm long with females ranging between 37 and 55cm long Average of 12 years in the wild and 17 in captivity
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