Platypus

The common name "platypus" means 'flat-foot', deriving from the Greek word platúpous (πλατύπους), from platús (πλατύς 'broad, wide, flat') and poús (πούς 'foot'). Shaw initially assigned the species the Linnaean name Platypus anatinus when he described it, but the genus term was quickly discovered to already be in use as the name of a beetle genus Platypus.

Various dictionaries list "platypuses" or simply "platypus" as the plural. Alternatively, the term "platypi" is also used for the plural, although this is a form of pseudo-Latin; going by the word's Greek roots the plural would be "platypodes". Early European settlers called it by many names, such as "watermole", "duckbill", and "duckmole". Occasionally it is specifically called the "duck-billed platypus". There is no official term for platypus young, but the term "platypup" sees unofficial use, as does "puggle".

Australian Aboriginal people have referred to the platypus in various ways depending on Australian indigenous languages and dialects. Among the names found: boondaburra, mallingong, tambreet, watjarang (names in Yass, Murrumbidgee, and Tumut), tohunbuck (region of Goomburra, Darling Downs), dulaiwarrung or dulai warrung (Woiwurrung language, Wurundjeri, Victoria), djanbang (Bundjalung, Queensland), djumulung (Yuin language, Yuin, New South Wales), maluŋgaŋ (ngunnawal language, Ngunnawal, Australian Capital Territory), biladurang, wamul, dyiimalung, oornie, dungidany (Wiradjuri language, Wiradjuri, Vic, NSW), oonah, etc. The name chosen and approved in Palawa kani (reconstructed Tasmanian language) is larila.

The body and the broad, flat tail of the platypus are covered with dense, brown, biofluorescent 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).

The webbing on the feet is more significant on the front feet and is folded back when walking on land. The elongated snout and lower jaw are covered in soft skin, forming the bill. 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.

Weight varies considerably from 0.7 to 2.4 kg (1 lb 9 oz to 5 lb 5 oz), with males being larger than females. Males average 50 cm (20 in) in total length, while females average 43 cm (17 in), with substantial variation in average size from one region to another. This pattern does not seem to follow any particular climatic rule and may be due to other environmental factors, such as predation and human encroachment.

The platypus has an average body temperature of about 32 °C (90 °F) rather than the 37 °C (99 °F) typical of placental mammals.

While both male and female platypuses are born with ankle spurs, only the spurs on the male's back ankles deliver venom, composed largely of defensin-like proteins (DLPs), three of which are unique to the platypus. The DLPs are produced by the immune system of the platypus. The function of defensins is to cause lysis in pathogenic bacteria and viruses, but in platypuses they also are formed into venom for defence. Although powerful enough to kill smaller animals such as dogs, the venom is not lethal to humans, but the pain is so excruciating that the victim may be incapacitated.

The venom appears to have a different function from those produced by non-mammalian species; its effects are not life-threatening to humans, but nevertheless powerful enough to seriously impair the victim. Since only males produce venom and production rises during the breeding season, it may be used as an offensive weapon to assert dominance during this period.

The platypus's electroreception is the most sensitive of any monotreme. The electroreceptors are located in rostrocaudal rows in the skin of the bill, while mechanoreceptors (which detect touch) are uniformly distributed across the bill. The electrosensory area of the cerebral cortex is contained within the tactile somatosensory area, and some cortical cells receive input from both electroreceptors and mechanoreceptors, suggesting a close association between the tactile and electric senses. Both electroreceptors and mechanoreceptors in the bill dominate the somatotopic map of the platypus brain, in the same way human hands dominate the Penfield homunculus map.

Monotreme electrolocation probably evolved in order to allow the animals to forage in murky waters, and may be tied to their tooth loss. The extinct Obdurodon was electroreceptive, but unlike the modern platypus it foraged pelagically (near the ocean surface).

Discovering the platypus's secret glow also sheds light on this trait in mammals, revealing that it's not just a few highly specialized species that glow in the dark.

The platypus is a bottom-feeder that uses its beaver-like tail to steer and its webbed feet to propel itself through the water while hunting for insects, shellfish, and worms. The watertight nostrils on its bill remain sealed so that the animal can stay submerged for up to two minutes as it forages for food.

The bill also comes equipped with specialized nerve endings, called electroreceptors, which detect tiny electrical currents generated by the muscular contractions of prey. It has no teeth, so the platypus stores its "catch" in its cheek pouches, returns to the surface, mashes up its meal with the help of gravel bits hoovered up enroute, then swallows it all down.

The female platypus lays her eggs in an underground burrow that she digs near the water’s edge. Baby platypuses hatch after 10 days and nurse for up to four months before they swim off and forage on their own.

On land, platypuses move a bit more awkwardly. However, the webbing on their feet retracts to expose individual nails and allow the creatures to run. Platypuses use their nails and feet to construct dirt burrows at the water's edge.

This strange mammal has poisonous spurs in its armpits, that it can use to inflict poison effects onto any attacker.

The platypus is endemic to Australia and is dependent on rivers, streams and bodies of freshwater. It is present in eastern Queensland and New South Wales, eastern, central and southwestern Victoria and throughout Tasmania. The western limits of the range are poorly known. The species was once found in the Adelaide Hills and Mount Lofty Ranges of South Australia. Nowadays it is extinct from that state, except for the introduced population on the western end of Kangaroo Island. There is no evidence that the animal occurred naturally in Western Australia, despite several unsuccessful attempts to introduce it there.

• Movement Pattern: Not a Migrant

• Individual Type: Solo

• Population Trend: Stable

• Population: 1,000

• Locomotion: Amphibious

• Habitat: Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests; Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands, Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Graveyard Vale;  Warm River; Cold River; Lukewarm River; Subterranean River; Warm Pond; Cold Pond; Aquifer; Warm Littoral; Cold Littoral; Warm Intertidal; Cold Intertidal; Warm Ghost Town; Cold Ghost Town; Ruined Skyscraper.

• Earth: 

  • Extant: Australia

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Past and Present Incidents Individuals

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The Recollections of Queen Arianna Individuals

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus

• https://phineasandferb.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_catchphrases_in_Phineas_and_Ferb

• https://www.livescience.com/platypuses-glow-uv-light.html

• https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/platypus.html

• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/platypus

• https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/platypus/

• https://alexs-mobs-bestiary.fandom.com/wiki/Platypus

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/40488/21964009

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Duck-billed-Platypus-941767931