The tail acts as a stabiliser when the platypus swims, and is also used for burrowing. Fat is stored in the tail for when food is scarce or when the female returns to her burrow to breed.
If the water is cold, platypus can increase their body's heat-production to keep their temperature at around 32 degrees. Awkward on the ground, the platypus waddles with the webs of its front feet turned back so it can use its claws for digging. The male platypus has a sharp spur on each ankle.
These spurs are connected to a venom gland in each thigh. The venom glands are most active during the spring breeding season, so competing males probably use the spurs in territorial fights. Platypus are found in eastern Australia from the steamy tropics of far north Queensland to the freezing snows of Tasmania. In Queensland, platypus live in rivers east of the Great Dividing Range, and are also found in some western-flowing streams.
In north Queensland, the range of the platypus is close to the coast. The animals aren't found in Cape York Peninsula. Platypus make their home in and near freshwater creeks, slow-moving rivers, lakes joined by rivers, and built water storages such as farm dams. They build a simple burrow in a river bank, just above water level and often among a tangle of tree roots. Platypus mostly live alone, but can share a water body with several other platypus. Half of the platypus's day is spent in the water looking for food.
The rest of its time is spent in its burrow, moving across land or even basking in the sun. During cold southern winters, a platypus can hibernate in its burrow. Platypus eat small water animals such as insect larvae, freshwater shrimps, and crayfish. The platypus, usually active at dawn and dusk, relies on its sensitive bill to find food. With eyes and ears closed, receptors in the bill can detect electrical currents in the water and can help to find prey.
The platypus has no teeth, and stores its food in cheek pouches to eat on the surface. It chews its food between horny grinding plates and ridges on its upper and lower jaws before swallowing. Platypus can stay underwater for up to 10 minutes. A unique, venomous, semi-aquatic mammal that lays eggs and uses electroreception to find its prey. From top to tail, platypuses or platypodes can be 60cm long. Males can weigh 3kg; females 1. Photo Steve Parish. Expert swimmers, they use these webbed feet to propel themselves and use their tails to steer through the water.
Their dense, silky brown fur is both waterproof and insulating — along with the fat reserves in their tails , their fur allows them to stay warm underwater.
Platypus use their bills to dig up food from the riverbed, but they're also highly sensitive. Platypuses use electroreceptors on their bills to detect electrical signals given off by prey as it moves. This explains its characteristic side-to-side head movement while hunting. In this way they hunt for prey underwater for 30 to seconds at a time.
The Platypus is one of very few venomous mammals in the world. Recent research suggests that the spur is used during aggressive encounters between rival males. Up for air. Photo Richard Taylor. For humans, the venom is non-fatal, but it can cause swelling, loss of muscle control and severe pain.
Taxonomically, it's the only species in the family Ornithorhynchidae. Platypuses are endemic to only found in east and south-eastern Australia.
They can live in many habitats, from tropical rainforest creeks to streams in alpine areas. Population number The ICUN lists the platypus as a "Least Concern" with decreasing population trend, but actually has very little data about population numbers.
Ecological niche The platypus, being a carnivore controls the populations of the species that it eats. Fun Facts for Kids European naturalists first thought the platypus was a hoax, and that someone had sewn together a duck's bill an otter's tail and created an animal like a beaver. The name "platypus" come from the Greek "platys," meaning broad and "pous," which means foot.
The platypus can growl like a puppy. The platypus uses its snout to search for prey. Its mouth is under the snout. Platypuses use their front feet to paddle and steer with their back feet and tails. References 1. Mammals of Queensland. Mammals of Tasmania. Mammals of Victoria. Related Animals Crab-Eating Fox. Short-Beaked Echidna. Red Fox. Eastern Long-Beaked Echidna. African Wild Dog.
Short-Eared Dog. Western Long-Beaked Echidna. Japanese Macaque. White Rhinoceros. Virginia Opossum. Nile Crocodile. Bald Eagle.
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