The platypus, sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
Duck-billed platypuses are small, shy animals. They have a flattened head and body to help them glide through the water. Their fur, dark brown on top and tan on their bellies, is thick and repels water to keep them warm and dry even after hours of swimming. Their head and body grow to about 15 inches (38 centimeters) and their tail about 5 inches long (13 centimeters). Their most remarkable feature is their amazing snout. It looks like a duck's bill, but is actually quite soft and covered with thousands of receptors that help the platypus detect prey.
Males are also venomous. They have sharp stingers on the heels of their rear feet and can use them to deliver a strong toxic blow to any foe.
Platypuses spend most of their time alone, sleeping or eating. These mammals are bottom feeders. They scoop up insects and larvae, shellfish, and worms in their bill along with bits of gravel and mud from the bottom. All this material is stored in cheek pouches and, at the surface, mashed for consumption. Platypuses do not have teeth, so the bits of gravel help them to "chew" their meal.
Platypuses are long-lived, surviving 20 years or more in captivity and up to 12 years in the wild. Scientists think these fascinating creatures are the earliest relatives of modern mammals. Recent studies show that they first evolved more than 112 million years ago, well before the extinction of the dinosaurs.
In David Collins's account of the new colony 1788 – 1801, he describes coming across "an amphibious, mole like" animal. His account includes a drawing of the animal.
The body and the broad, flat tail of the platypus are covered with dense, brown fur that traps a layer of insulating air to keep the animal warm. The fur is waterproof, and the texture is akin to that of a mole. The platypus uses its tail for storage of fat reserves (an adaptation also found in animals such as the Tasmanian devil). It has webbed feet and a large, rubbery duck-like snout. The webbing is more significant on the front feet and is folded back when walking on land. Unlike a bird's beak (in which the upper and lower parts separate to reveal the mouth), the snout of the platypus is a sensory organ with the mouth on the underside. The nostrils are located on the dorsal surface of the snout, while the eyes and ears are located in a groove set just back from it; this groove is closed when swimming. Platypuses have been heard to emit a low growl when disturbed and a range of other vocalisations have been reported in captive specimens.
While both male and female platypuses are born with ankle spurs, only the male's spurs deliver venom.
