Platypus
Duck, Beaver, and Otter
Descripition
One of nature's unlikely animals, the platypus is a mixture of duck, beaver, and otter and posses poisonous stingers on its rear feet. On land, platypuses move quite awkwardly. The webbing on their feet retract, exposing nails that allow them to run. Platypuses can be found in freshwater creeks, rivers, and lakes. Platypuses can grow around 15.7 - 23.6 inches and weight up to 5.3 pounds!
Dietary Habits
The platypus is a carnivorous animal. The platypus hunts underwater, using its webbed feet and beaver-like tail to swim gracefully beneath the surface. Platypuses are bottom feeders. They pick up insects, larvae, shellfish, and worms along with mud and gravel. Platypuses do not have teeth, so the gravel helps them grind their food.
Classification Order
Platypus Parts
Evolutionary Relationships
Platypuses are usually considered a hodgepodge of more familiar species such as the duck, the beaver, and the otter. In fact, the first scientist to discover such an animal thought they were victims of a hoax.
Social Interactions
Although males do initiate the mating process, the progress of it depends mainly on the female. The male will bite a females tale to make his first move, but if the female is unwilling she will swim away and escape the male's firm grip on her tail. If she is willing, then she will swim away with the male platypus, where they can finish their mating process. Once pregnant, the female will bury itself inside one of its burrow's chambers, until she lays her eggs. After birth, the female nurses its young for around 4 months, or at least until they can swim on their own. When it is not mating season, platypuses will spend up to 12 hours a day hunting, and the rest in their burrows. Platypuses are very solitary animals, especially males. If territories overlap with males, the platypuses with arrange their times to avoid each other.