Platypus

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Family: Ornithorhynchidae Gray
Order: Monotremata
Genus: Ornithorhynchus Blumenbach
Species: Ornithorhynchus Anatinus

Evolution

Subspecies

monotremes

How long have platypuses been in existence?

110 million years

Close Living Relative

Echidnas

Ancestor 1

Obdurodon tharalkooschild

Ancestor 2

Teinolophos

Ancestor 3

Steropodon

Description

Otter like body
Bill and broad flat tail used to store fat
Short limbs with webbed feet
Dense dark brown to reddish brown fur with light brown/silver underfur

Paddle-shaped tail like a beaver

Furry body like an otter

Flat bill and webbed feet like a duck

Size: 15-24 inches long

Weight: 2-5 lbs

Life Span: around 6 years

Male Platypus

Longer and heavier

Ankle spurs are venomous

Female Platypus

Shorter and lighter

Has ankle spurs will fall off after a year

Also known as a Jill

Description of the Habitat

How much rain fall: 45-129 inches per year

Plants: Wattles, eucalypts, ferns, lilly pillies, callistemons, mosses, algae, fungi

Animals: kangaroos, koalas, emus, dingoes, platypus, bandicoots, echidnas

Temperature: 85 degrees fahrenheit

Terrain: Freshwater creeks, slow moving rivers

Distribution

Platypuses only live in rivers, streams and lakes of eastern Australia

They are not invasive

Diet

Insect larvae, freshwater shrimps, freshwater crustaceans

They can forage for food for 10-12 hours or longer if waters are cool enough
Swim along the bottom of the river or lake
Sight, smell and hearing are shut down while feeding
Moves bill through substrate from side to side using it's sophisticated electromechanical system to detect minute electrical signals given off by the muscles of prey
They occasionally eat tadpoles, small fish, aquatic snails, small clams, worms

Looking for Food

1:17-1:55

Social Structure

They live a solo life
They keep a balance between in the environment by eating primary consumers
They will live among each other in the same body of water
They will only come together to mate

Reproduction

Mate once a year
Females only have one mate a year, usually the biggest and strongest male
Males will mate with multiple females a year
They can mate anytime between June and October, it can vary due to location of the platypus
The female will lay 1-3 eggs in a deep self built burrow
The male will not stick around after mating with the female
There is competition between males over females

Mating Ritual

Males will try to court females by biting on the female's tail, but the female will flee if she's not ready. This can last up to 6 weeks
After the female has decided to accept her potential mate, she will allow him to bite on her tail and she will respond by biting on his tail and swim in a circle
They will also dive, roll sideways together and swim near each other
Sometimes these activities will be for a few days before finally mating

Platypuses reach sexual maturity at 2 years old
The eggs will develop inside the mother for about a month
She then lays the eggs in her burrow and incubates them for 10 days

Stages of Development

4. When the babies hatch, they are hairless, blind and deaf

5. They survive on their mother's milk for 3-4 months while in the burrow

6. At 4 months old, the babies leave the burrow

7. They will begin eating adult food, including insect larvae, freshwater shrimp and freshwater crayfish

Causes of Death

Predators include water rats, snakes, birds of prey and occasionally a crocodile
Males compete over females
Platypuses with Mucormycosis can develop ugly skin lesions or ulcers on various parts of the body including their backs, tails and legs