![]() The undercoat traps a layer of air next to the body when a platypus is in the water, helping to keep the animal warm even in freezing winter conditions. Additionally, there are two layers of fur: a dense, wooly undercoat covered by longer, coarser, waterproof guard hairs. To help reduce its rate of heat loss in the water, a healthy platypus maintains its body temperature at around 89–90☏ (32☌), which is about 9☏ (5☌) cooler than that of humans. The largest animals measure about 24 in (0.6 m) in total length and weigh 6.6 lb (3 kg). The platypus is a relatively small animal males are typically 15–20% longer and weigh 60–90% more than females at any given locality. While platypus venom is not considered to be life-threatening to humans, it can cause excruciating pain for a number of days after a person is spurred. Platypus venom is produced most abundantly just before and during the annual breeding season, suggesting that it has mainly evolved to help adult males compete for mates. From a gland (the crural gland) located in the upper thigh, adult males secrete venom, which runs through a duct to a hollow, pointed spur (measuring 0.5–0.8 in in length) located on the ankle of each hind leg. The platypus is also remarkable in being one of the few mammals known to be poisonous. ![]() Like a thumb, the platypus's bill is fleshy and covered by soft, sensitive skin, and is used by the animal to provide essential information about the surrounding environment as well as grab and hold objects. While the animal's bill may look like a duck's beak, it is actually more like a human thumb in terms of its physical attributes and the way it is used. This structure is superficially duck-like-so much so that George Shaw, the first professional zoologist to examine a platypus (a dried skin arrived in England in 1799), felt compelled to probe at the line where the bill joins the rest of the head to see if the specimen had been forged by a clever taxidermist. Its most striking feature is undoubtedly its bill. ![]() In contrast, the back feet are only moderately webbed and mainly used for grooming the fur. The end of each front foot is equipped with a broad expanse of webbing, forming a highly effective paddle when the animal swims and dives. Interestingly, the platypus relies almost exclusively on its front limbs to propel itself through the water. The fur is dark brown above (apart from a small light-colored spot just in front of each eye) while the chest and belly are silvery cream, sometimes marked with a tawny or reddish streak running along the animal's midline. The animal's color pattern ensures that the platypus blends in with its watery environment when viewed from either above or below. The platypus has a flattened, streamlined head and body, well suited to its aquatic lifestyle. The taxonomy of this species is Ornithorynchus anatinus (Shaw, 1799), New Holland (Sydney), New South Wales, Australia. Based on genetic evidence, it is believed that the platypus and echidna lines have been evolving separately since the late Cretaceous or early Tertiary periods, 63–78 mya. The nearest living relatives are the echidnas (family Tachyglossidae). At least one type of ancient platypus is also known to have lived in the Patagonian region of South America some 61–63 million years ago (mya), when South America was still physically joined to Australia as part of the giant southern supercontinent, Gondwana. Several extinct ornithorhynchid species have been described, mainly from fossils found in Australia. No subspecies or races are known to occur. The family Ornithorhynchidae includes just one modern species, the duck-billed platypus. ![]() Number of genera, species 1 genus 1 speciesĭistribution Eastern Australia, including Tasmania Evolution and systematics Thumbnail description Amphibious predator in freshwater habitats, characterized by a broad tail, flat head and body, short limbs adapted to digging and swimming, and conspicuous duck-like bill
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