Who is called a platypus. The platypus is a unique animal in Australia. Social structure and reproduction

The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is an Australian waterfowl from the monotreme order. The platypus is the only modern representative of the platypus family.

Appearance and description

The body length of an adult platypus can vary between 30-40 cm. The tail is 10-15 cm long, most often it weighs about two kilograms. The body of the male is about a third larger than the body of the female.. The body is squat, with fairly short legs. The tail part is flattened, with the accumulation of fat reserves, similar to a beaver's tail, covered with wool. The fur of the platypus is quite thick and soft, dark brown on the back, and with a reddish or gray tint on the ventral part.

It is interesting! Platypuses have a low metabolism, and the normal body temperature of this mammal does not exceed 32 ° C. The animal easily regulates body temperature, increasing the metabolic rate several times.

The head is rounded, with an elongated facial region, turning into a flat and soft beak, which is covered with elastic skin stretched over a pair of thin and long, arcuate bones. The length of the beak can reach 6.5 cm with a width of 5 cm. A feature of the oral cavity is the presence of cheek pouches used by animals to store food. The lower part or base of the beak in males has a specific gland that produces a secret that has a characteristic musky odor. Juveniles have eight fragile and rapidly worn teeth, which eventually give way to keratinized plates.

The five-toed paws of platypuses are perfectly adapted not only for swimming, but also for digging soil in the coastal zone. The swimming membranes, located on the front paws, protrude in front of the fingers, and are able to bend, revealing fairly sharp and strong claws. The webbed part on the hind legs has a very weak development, therefore, in the process of swimming with a platypus, it is used as a kind of stabilizer rudder. When moving on land, the gait of this mammal is similar to that of a reptile.

On the top of the beak are nasal openings. A structural feature of the head of the platypus is the absence of auricles, and the auditory openings and eyes are located in special grooves on the sides of the head. When diving, the edges of the auditory, visual and olfactory openings quickly close, and their functions are taken over by the skin rich in nerve endings on the beak. A kind of electrolocation helps a mammal to easily detect prey in the process of spearfishing.

Habitat and lifestyle

Until 1922, the platypus population was found exclusively in its homeland - the territory of eastern Australia. The distribution area stretches from the territory of Tasmania and the Australian Alps to the outskirts of Queensland.. The main population of the egg-laying mammal is currently distributed exclusively in eastern Australia and Tasmania. The mammal, as a rule, leads a secretive way of life and inhabits the coastal part of medium-sized rivers or natural reservoirs with stagnant water.

It is interesting! The closest species of mammal related to the platypus is the echidna and prochidna, together with which the platypus belongs to the monotreme (Monotremata) or oviparous order, and in some ways resembles reptiles.

Platypuses prefer water with temperatures ranging from 25.0-29.9°C, but avoid brackish water. The dwelling of a mammal is represented by a short and straight hole, the length of which can reach ten meters. Each such hole necessarily has two entrances and a comfortable inner chamber. One entrance is necessarily underwater, and the second is located under the root system of trees or in fairly dense thickets.

Platypus nutrition

Platypuses are excellent swimmers and divers, and are able to stay underwater for up to five minutes. In the aquatic environment, this unusual animal is able to spend a third of the day, which is due to the need to eat a significant amount of food, the volume of which often makes up a quarter of the total weight of the platypus.

The main period of activity falls on twilight and night hours.. The entire volume of food of the platypus is made up of small aquatic animals that fall into the beak of a mammal after it stirs up the bottom of the reservoir. The diet can be represented by various crustaceans, worms, insect larvae, tadpoles, mollusks and various aquatic vegetation. After the food is collected in the cheek pouches, the animal rises to the water surface and grinds it with the help of horny jaws.

Platypus breeding

Every year, platypuses fall into hibernation, which can last five to ten days. Immediately after hibernation in mammals, the phase of active reproduction begins, which falls on the period from August to the last ten days of November. Mating of a semi-aquatic animal occurs in water.

To attract attention, the male slightly bites the female by the tail, after which the couple swims in a circle for some time. The final stage of such peculiar mating games is mating. Platypus males are polygamous and do not form stable pairs. During his entire life, one male is able to cover a significant number of females. Attempts to breed platypus in captivity rarely end successfully.

hatching eggs

Immediately after mating, the female begins to dig a brood burrow, which is longer than the usual platypus burrow and has a special nesting chamber. Inside such a chamber, a nest is built from plant stems and foliage. To protect the nest from attack by predators and water, the female blocks the corridor of the hole with special plugs from the ground. The average thickness of each such plug is 15-20 cm. To make an earth plug, the female uses the tail part, wielding it like a construction trowel.

It is interesting! Constant humidity inside the created nest helps to protect the eggs laid by the female platypus from destructive drying out. Egg laying occurs about a couple of weeks after mating.

As a rule, there are a couple of eggs in one clutch, but their number can vary from one to three.. Platypus eggs look like reptile eggs and have a rounded shape. The average diameter of an egg covered with a dirty whitish, leathery shell does not exceed a centimeter. The laid eggs are held together by a sticky substance that covers the outside of the shell. The incubation period lasts approximately ten days, and the incubating female rarely leaves the nest.

Platypus cubs

The platypus cubs that are born are naked and blind. The length of their body does not exceed 2.5-3.0 cm. To hatch, the cub breaks through the shell of the egg with a special tooth, which falls off immediately after hatching. Turning over on her back, the female places the hatched cubs on her belly. Milk feeding is carried out using greatly expanded pores located on the female's abdomen.

Milk flowing down the hairs of wool accumulates inside special grooves, where the cubs find it and lick it off. Small platypuses open their eyes after about three months, and milk feeding lasts up to four months, after which the babies begin to gradually leave the hole and hunt on their own. Puberty of young platypuses occurs at the age of twelve months. The average life expectancy of a platypus in captivity does not exceed ten years.

Platypus Enemies

Under natural conditions, the platypus does not have a large number of enemies. This very unusual mammal can become quite easy prey for pythons and sometimes swim in river waters. It should be remembered that platypuses belong to the category of poisonous mammals and young individuals have the beginnings of horny spurs on their hind limbs.

It is interesting! For catching platypuses, dogs were most often used, which could catch the animal not only on land, but also in water, but for the most part, the “catchers” died on the cut after the platypus began to use poisonous spurs for protection.

By the age of one year, females lose this method of protection, while in males, on the contrary, the spurs increase in size and reach a length of one and a half centimeters by the stage of puberty. The spurs are connected through ducts to the femoral glands, which produce a complex poisonous mixture during the mating season. Such poisonous spurs are used by males in mating fights and for the purpose of protection from predators. Platypus venom is not dangerous to humans, but can cause enough

The platypus, which lives in Australia, can be safely called one of the most amazing animals on our planet. When the first skin of a platypus first came to England (this happened in 1797), at first everyone thought that some joker had sewn a duck's beak onto the skin of an animal that looked like a beaver. When it turned out that the skin was not a fake, the scientists could not decide which group of animals to attribute this creature to. The zoological name for this strange animal was given in 1799 by the English naturalist George Shaw - Ornithorhynchus (from the Greek ορνιθορυγχος, "bird's nose", and anatinus, "duck"), tracing paper from the first scientific name - "platypus" has taken root in Russian, but in modern English, the name platypus is used - "flat-foot" (from the Greek platus - "flat" and pous - "paw").
When the first animals were brought to England, it turned out that the female platypus has no visible mammary glands, but this animal, like birds, has a cloaca. For a quarter of a century, scientists could not decide where to attribute the platypus - to mammals, birds, reptiles, or even to a separate class, until in 1824 the German biologist Johann Friedrich Meckel discovered that the platypus still has mammary glands and the female feeds her cubs with milk. It became clear that the platypus is a mammal. The fact that the platypus lays eggs was only proven in 1884.

The platypus, together with the echidna (another Australian mammal), form the monotreme order (Monotremata). The name of the detachment is due to the fact that the intestines and the urogenital sinus flow into the cloaca (similarly - in amphibians, reptiles and birds), and do not go out in separate passages.
In 2008, the platypus genome was deciphered and it turned out that the ancestors of modern platypuses separated from other mammals 166 million years ago. An extinct species of platypus (Obdurodon insignis) lived in Australia more than 5 million years ago. The modern species of platypus (Obdurodon insignis) appeared in the Pleistocene epoch.

Stuffed platypus and its skeleton

The body length of the platypus is up to 45 cm, the tail is up to 15 cm, it weighs up to 2 kg. Males are about a third larger than females. The body of the platypus is squat, short-legged; the tail is flattened, similar to the tail of a beaver, but covered with hair, which thins noticeably with age. Fat stores are stored in the tail of the platypus. Its fur is thick, soft, usually dark brown on the back and reddish or gray on the belly. The head is round. Anteriorly, the facial section is elongated into a flat beak about 65 mm long and 50 mm wide. The beak is not hard like in birds, but soft, covered with elastic bare skin, which is stretched over two thin, long, arched bones. The oral cavity is expanded into cheek pouches, in which food is stored during feeding (various crustaceans, worms, snails, frogs, insects and small fish). At the bottom at the base of the beak, males have a specific gland that produces a secretion with a musky odor. Young platypuses have 8 teeth, but they are fragile and quickly wear out, giving way to keratinized plates.

The paws of the platypus are five-fingered, adapted for both swimming and digging. The swimming membrane on the front paws protrudes in front of the toes, but can be bent in such a way that the claws are exposed outward, turning the swimming limb into a digging one. The webs on the hind legs are much less developed; for swimming, the platypus does not use its hind legs, like other semi-aquatic animals, but its front legs. The hind legs act as a rudder in the water, and the tail serves as a stabilizer. The gait of the platypus on land is more reminiscent of the gait of a reptile - he puts his legs on the sides of the body.

Its nasal openings open on the upper side of the beak. There are no auricles. The eyes and ear openings are located in the grooves on the sides of the head. When the animal dives, the edges of these grooves, like the valves of the nostrils, close, so that neither sight, nor hearing, nor smell can function under water. However, the skin of the beak is rich in nerve endings, and this provides the platypus not only with a highly developed sense of touch, but also with the ability to electrolocate. Electroreceptors in the bill can detect weak electric fields, such as those produced by crustacean muscle contractions, which help the platypus find prey. When looking for it, the platypus continuously moves its head from side to side during spearfishing. The platypus is the only mammal that has developed electroreception.

The platypus has a remarkably low metabolism compared to other mammals; his normal body temperature is only 32°C. However, at the same time, he perfectly knows how to regulate body temperature. So, being in water at 5 ° C, the platypus can maintain normal body temperature for several hours by increasing the metabolic rate by more than 3 times.

The platypus is one of the few venomous mammals (along with some shrews and flint teeth that have toxic saliva).
Young platypuses of both sexes have rudiments of horn spurs on their hind legs. In females, by the age of one year, they fall off, while in males they continue to grow, reaching 1.2-1.5 cm in length by the time of puberty. Each spur is connected by a duct to the femoral gland, which during the mating season produces a complex "cocktail" of poisons. Males use spurs during courtship fights. Platypus venom can kill a dingo or other small animal. For a person, it is generally not fatal, but it causes very severe pain, and edema develops at the injection site, which gradually spreads to the entire limb. Pain (hyperalgesia) can last for many days or even months.

The platypus is a secretive nocturnal semi-aquatic animal that inhabits the banks of small rivers and stagnant reservoirs of Eastern Australia and the island of Tasmania. The reason for the disappearance of the platypus in South Australia, apparently, was water pollution, to which the platypus is very sensitive. He prefers water temperatures of 25-29.9 °C; does not occur in brackish water.

The platypus lives along the banks of water bodies. It shelters in a short straight burrow (up to 10 m long), with two entrances and an internal chamber. One entrance is underwater, the other is located 1.2-3.6 m above the water level, under the roots of trees or in thickets.

The platypus is an excellent swimmer and diver, remaining underwater for up to 5 minutes. In water, he spends up to 10 hours a day, since he needs to eat an amount of food per day that is up to a quarter of his own weight. The platypus is active at night and at dusk. It feeds on small aquatic animals, stirring up silt at the bottom of the reservoir with its beak and catching rising living creatures. They observed how the platypus, feeding, turns over stones with its claws or with the help of its beak. He eats crustaceans, worms, insect larvae; rarely tadpoles, mollusks and aquatic vegetation. Having collected food in the cheek pouches, the platypus rises to the surface and, lying on the water, grinds it with its horny jaws.

In nature, the enemies of the platypus are few. Occasionally it is attacked by a monitor lizard, a python and a sea leopard swimming in the rivers.

Every year, platypuses fall into a 5-10-day winter hibernation, after which they have a breeding season. It continues from August to November. Mating takes place in the water. Platypuses do not form permanent pairs.
After mating, the female digs a brood burrow. Unlike the usual burrow, it is longer and ends with a nesting chamber. Inside, a nest is built from stems and leaves; The female wears the material, pressing her tail to her stomach. She then plugs the corridor with one or more earth plugs 15-20 cm thick to protect the burrow from predators and floods. The female makes plugs with the help of her tail, which she uses as a mason's spatula. The nest inside is always damp, which prevents the eggs from drying out. The male does not take part in the construction of the burrow and the rearing of the young.

2 weeks after mating, the female lays 1-3 (usually 2) eggs. Incubation lasts up to 10 days. During incubation, the female lies, bending in a special way and holds the eggs on her body.

Platypus cubs are born naked and blind, about 2.5 cm long. The female, lying on her back, moves them to her belly. She doesn't have a pouch. The mother feeds the cubs with milk, which comes out through the enlarged pores on her stomach. Milk flows down the mother's coat, accumulating in special grooves, and the cubs lick it off. The mother leaves the offspring only for a short time to feed and dry the skin; leaving, she clogs the entrance with soil. The eyes of the cubs open at 11 weeks. Milk feeding lasts up to 4 months; at 17 weeks, the cubs begin to leave the hole to hunt. Young platypuses reach sexual maturity at the age of 1 year.

Deciphering the platypus genome showed that the immune system of platypuses contains a whole developed family of genes responsible for the production of antimicrobial protein molecules cathelicidin. Primates and vertebrates have only one copy of the cathelicidin gene in their genome. Probably, the development of this antimicrobial genetic apparatus was necessary to enhance the immune defense of barely hatched platypus cubs, which go through the first, rather long stages of their maturation in brood burrows. The cubs of other mammals go through these stages of their development while still in the sterile womb. Being more mature immediately after birth, they are more resistant to the action of pathogenic microorganisms and do not need increased immune protection.

The lifespan of platypuses in nature is unknown, but one platypus lived at the zoo for 17 years.

Platypuses previously served as an object of fishing because of valuable fur, but at the beginning of the 20th century. hunting them was prohibited. Currently, their population is considered relatively stable, although due to water pollution and habitat degradation, the platypus's range is becoming more and more mosaic. Some damage was caused to it by the rabbits brought by the colonists, who, digging holes, disturbed the platypuses, forcing them to leave their habitable places.
The platypus is an easily excitable, nervous animal. The sound of a voice, footsteps, some unusual noise or vibration is enough for the platypus to be out of balance for many days, or even weeks. Therefore, for a long time it was not possible to transport platypuses to zoos in other countries. The platypus was first successfully taken abroad in 1922 to the New York Zoo, but it only lived there for 49 days. Attempts to breed platypuses in captivity have been successful only a few times.

Platypus on video:

In preparing the article, materials from the Russian Wikipedia, gazeta.ru were used.

The mammal animal platypus, whose photo can be seen on Australian stamps and the official symbols of Australia, belongs to the order of monotremes, has a number of features that bring it closer to reptiles. The animal is considered rare, it is not found on other continents.

The platypus (a photo of the animal is presented below) is a small animal. The length of its body does not exceed 30, sometimes 40 cm. The tail and beak of the animal deserve special attention. And if the first one in many ways resembles the tail of a beaver, then the second one has much in common with the beak of an ordinary duck, which was the reason for the platypus to get its own name.

The tail is flat, in young animals it is covered with hair, in old animals it is hairless (over time, the hair falls out). In the tail of the animal, reserves of fat are deposited, helping to save life during a period of lack of food. The body is covered with thick, very soft dark brown fur. The abdomen is light brown or red.

Beak

The front part of the head of the platypus is extended forward, gradually turning into a flat beak. The head is round and small. The width of the beak is 5 cm, the length is 6.5 cm. It is in many ways similar to a duck, but unlike it, it is represented not by hard plates, but by 2 soft bones covered with thin, well-stretching skin.

The platypus has cheek pouches that seem to expand the oral cavity and serve to store food supplies. In the lower part of the beak, males have a special gland that secretes a secretion from which an unpleasant musky odor comes. Young animals have teeth - only 8. They are fragile, quickly wear out and soon turn into keratinized plates.

Closer to the eyes on the beak are 2 nasal openings. The surface of the beak contains nerve endings, giving the animal the ability to use electrolocation. He turns his head in order to pick up faint signals of radiation from future prey, such as cancer. Although the echidna has such receptors, it does not use them when searching for food.

Description of the platypus:

Animal poison

The platypus (a photo of the animal and its description can be found in reference books and guides to Australia), unlike many mammals, is poisonous. On the hind legs of young animals of both sexes there are horny spurs. In females that have reached the age of one year, they disappear, while in males they remain, reaching a length of 1.2-1.5 cm.

On the eve of mating, the femoral gland of males begins to produce poison, which enters the spur and turns the hind legs of the animal into a deadly weapon.

During the rut period, platypuses inflict many blows on each other, trying to scratch the enemy with the claws of the hind leg. In this case, the opponent dies from a severe pain shock. Platypus venom can kill a dingo dog. For a person, it does not pose a danger, but severe swelling can form at the site of impact, pain persists for several weeks and months.

Kinds

The platypus (the photo of the animal shows its color and external features) is the only representative of its species. Its closest relative is the echidna.

Like the platypus, it is the last surviving member of an early mammal species.

The ancestors of the platypus lived on the Australian continent more than 4.5 million years ago.

Sex determination

The genome of the platypus was deciphered in 2008. It has 10 chromosomes responsible for gender. In other mammals, including humans, there are only 2 such chromosomes - X and Y. A sequence of 10 X means that there is a female in front of the researcher, and the alternation of X and Y allows us to talk about the presence of a male in front of him.

The method of sex determination is similar to that used to determine this important characteristic in the egg-laying ancestors of the platypus, as well as birds. Female platypuses lay eggs. Their ovaries have much in common with the ovaries of birds and reptiles.

The main reproductive function is assigned to the left ovary, the right one is underdeveloped and does not participate in the process of laying eggs by the female. The testicles of males are located inside the body, this is the only thing that distinguishes the device of the genitals of the male platypus from the genitals of other mammals.

Animal features

Platypuses do not have ears in the usual sense for a mammal. This is the only mammal that has electrical receptors and uses them to find prey. Plunging into the water, the platypus can no longer rely on sight or smell. They are replaced by the ability to pick up electrical signals from the environment.

Another feature of platypuses is considered to be a slow metabolism at a body temperature not exceeding 32 degrees Celsius. At the same time, when the ambient temperature drops, the metabolism in the body of the platypus is 3 times, which allows it to easily endure a sharp nighttime drop in air and water temperature.

What is the body made of

Each of the 4 paws has 5 fingers, designed both for free movement in the water and for digging holes. This is possible due to the mobility in the web on the front legs. It bends inward, long claws intended for digging are exposed forward.

On the hind legs, the membranes are very small, therefore, when immersed in water, the platypus practically does not use them, setting the course with its front paws and helping itself with its tail. When moving on land, the platypus spreads its legs wide, which is why from afar it can be mistaken for a reptile (alligators move similarly on the ground).

Due to the location of the eyes and nose in special grooves that close under water, the platypus does not see or touch anything when immersed. Hearing, vision and smell are replaced by nerve endings, a large number of which are located on the skin and in the beak area.

Females do not have mammary glands, while these animals still feed offspring with milk, which seeps through the pores located on the abdomen (it was the absence of mammary glands that caused the animals to not be correctly classified for a long time).

Lifestyle

Usually platypuses live near warm rivers and streams, but some representatives of this species live in high mountain streams with cold water. Most often, animals are found near swamps, rivers and lakes, which abound in the tropics.

Unlike beavers, platypuses do not build houses; they dig a deep hole in the coastal soil, up to 10 m long.

The hole is necessarily equipped with 2 passages - 1 is under water, and the other is on land, but it is well camouflaged and not easy to get to. The entrance from the side of the reservoir is much narrower than the one that allows you to get into the hole from land. Squeezing through it, the platypus is freed from unnecessary moisture. Excess water is squeezed out of his fur coat.

The animal hunts at night. Prey lies in wait at the bottom of a reservoir or finds it under stones and snags on land. In the latter case, the platypus often resorts to using its paws and claws, turning over stones with them, under which it hopes to find food. He is very agile and fast, and in the water, and on land, it is not easy for a potential victim to hide from him.

Food

The platypus finds snails, insects and worms under snags and stones, crustaceans, frogs, other living creatures and algae catches in a pond. The amount of food consumed per day is ¼ of the total weight of the animal. He is constantly looking for prey, spending up to 10 hours a day in the water.

The platypus collects food that comes across to him while diving in his cheek pouches. At the end of the hunt, he emerges, lays down on the water and grinds the food with horn plates left in place of the teeth. The female takes part of the food to the hole, where she feeds the cubs.

Reproduction and lifespan

The rut or mating period begins in August and lasts until November. Sexually mature females and males shortly before this fall into a short hibernation, lasting from 5 to 10 days.

Platypuses mate in water. At least 5 different ways of courting males for females have been identified. But the most common option is the one in which the male grabs the female by the tail, making several circular movements with her. After 2-3 circles, the animals mate. Animals do not form a married couple. During season 1, the male covers 2-3 or more females.

Platypus live on average up to 10 years. Life expectancy is indicated in relation to animals living in a zoo or reserve. In the wild, life expectancy depends on weather conditions and the number of predators that live in close proximity to the place of residence of the animal.

hatching eggs

At the end of mating, the female leaves the male and proceeds to dig an additional hole, in which she lays her eggs. The burrow for cubs has only one entrance, it is longer and wider than the usual habitat of the platypus. The nest is laid out from the leaves and stems of plants brought by the female with the help of her tail.

The animal presses the grasses and stems of plants dug together with the roots with its tail to the stomach and thus transports them to the place where the nest is built. Eggs are laid 2 weeks after mating. There are few of them - only 1-2 pieces (rarely 3), and they are very small - up to 1.1 cm in diameter, have a round shape and outwardly have much in common with eggs laid by reptiles.

The shell is leathery, off-white. The eggs are glued together with a sticky substance that protects them from external influences.

Platypus cubs

From the egg, the cubs hatch on the 10th day after laying. They are completely helpless, they do not see anything, they freeze, because the hair covering their bodies grows a little later. The length of the newborn's body does not exceed 2.5 cm. A special egg tooth helps them to get out of the egg, which falls out immediately after breaking through the shell.

So that the cubs or eggs do not freeze, the female seals the hole with an earthen plug. The hatched cubs the female places on her stomach, where they get access to mother's milk, which appears through the expanded pores. The liquid flows down the wool and accumulates in special pores on the belly, from where the animals lick it off.

The female almost does not leave the hole, spending all her time with the cubs. In those rare cases when she needs to leave offspring unattended, she clogs the nest with earth. At about the 11th week of life, the cubs begin to see, after another 6 weeks they begin to freely leave the hole and hunt. This happens around January or March.

Milk feeding stops at the 4th month after birth. Young animals are ready for mating at the age of 1-2 years.

Platypus Enemies

Since the platypus spends most of the daylight hours in a hole, leaving it only for night hunting, it has few enemies. Small platypuses are sometimes hunted by dingoes, adults become prey for 1ov and pythons. Sometimes they are hunted by leopards that can swim in the water, have good speed and the ability to patiently wait for the appearance of prey.

Before the ban, the platypus was hunted with dogs. Dogs could pursue the animal not only on land, but also under water. The only disadvantage of this method of catching was the possible death of the dog due to injury by its hind poisonous limbs of the platypus.

Relationships with people

Platypuses are animals whose photos are extremely popular, they are not aggressive, they try to stay away from human habitation and industrial zones. There have been no cases of platypus attacks on humans.

But an animal can seriously injure a person with paws with claws located on them, poison is released from spurs on the hind limbs, therefore, when studying animals in their natural habitat, extracting traps from rabbits and other small animals, people should be careful.

Population status and protection

They learned about platypuses in Europe relatively recently - towards the end of the 18th century. Initially, no one believed in the existence of such an unusual animal. But after the completion of the colonization of the Australian continent, the hunt for platypuses began. Skins and carcasses of small animals were very popular among tourists. They were used to make clothes and stuffed animals.

Mass extermination almost led to their extinction, so they stopped hunting platypuses, and they themselves were taken under state protection. The authorities have created a network of nature reserves and shelters where animals can live without worrying about safety. The most famous are the reserves of Holsfill and West Burley. Here you can meet the platypus and watch its movements.

Since only a small number of platypuses survive in captivity, it is almost impossible to find this animal in zoos around the world. The extremely shy platypus dies before the end of its transportation to a new habitat. It is difficult to calculate the number of animals living in the wild; in recent years, their population has become relatively stable.

But many negative environmental factors that forced platypuses to leave their habitable places are still preserved. Thus, the widespread pollution of water bodies and coastal zones, as well as rabbits that have bred in Australia, force animals to look for new habitats. In the process of migration, many of them die at the hands of humans or wild animals.

The most interesting facts about platypuses

The platypus (photo of the animal and its description discussed above) is a rare animal. He lives on only 1 continent - in Australia, and therefore much about his way of life remains poorly understood or unknown.

Interesting Platypus Facts:

Attempts to breed platypuses in artificial conditions are almost never successful. Animals cannot live in captivity, and if this happens, they refuse to mate and lay eggs. A small animal, the platypus, when viewed from the back, is very reminiscent of a beaver, as seen in the photographs. The flat-foot is not dangerous to humans; it has been used for fishing purposes for a long time.

At the moment, platypus hunting is prohibited, but there are many factors that negatively affect the life of these mammals, among which human activity is not the last.

Article formatting: Ilchenko Oksana

Platypus video

Description of the platypus:

Nathan Nelson

The physiological diversity of the platypus is simply breathtaking

Since scientists discovered in 1797 platypus with a beaked nose, he immediately became a mortal enemy of evolution. When this amazing animal was sent to England, scientists thought it was a fake made by Chinese taxidermy (see Ham, 2002, p. 126). At that time, these masters were famous for connecting different parts of the body of animals and making unusual stuffed animals. After platypus was discovered, George Shaw introduced it to the public as Platypus anatinus (translated as flat-footed duck). This name did not last long, as another scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach changed it to "paradoxical bird's beak", or Ornithorhynchus paradoxus(translated as paradoxical birdbeak) (see Vent, 1959, pp. 253-254). After a long debate between the two scientists over the name of this animal, they finally came to an agreement and decided to call it "duck-billed bird" or Ornithorhynchus anatinus.

Why did scientists argue about who this animal really is? And why was its name so unusual? The answer to these questions lies in the anatomical structure of this amazing creature. In his book "Diversity of Life" Colin Taj writes:

Prototheria (Oviparous) includes only one existing group, the order Monotremata, which today is represented only by a species of platypus and two species (in two genera) of echidna. A distinctive feature of these species is that they lay eggs and keep their hatchlings in a pouch like a kangaroo (2000, p. 437).

The taxonomists were forced to single out platypus into a separate detachment because he did not belong to any other detachment. Robert W. Feid explains it this way:

"Nose platypus looks like a duck's beak. On each foot are not only five fingers, but also membranes, which makes the platypus something between a duck and an animal that can dig and dig. Unlike most mammals, the platypus' limbs are short and parallel to the ground. Externally, the ear looks like an opening without the auricle, which is usually present in mammals. The eyes are small. Platypus- an animal that leads a nocturnal lifestyle. It catches food underwater and stores food supply, i.e. worms, snails, larvae and other worms like squirrels in special bags that are behind his cheeks” (1990, p. 111).

Evolutionists are surprised by the variety of structural features that can be found in platypus. Looking at its beak, one might think that it is a relative of a duck; by its tail one could classify it as a beaver; his hair is like that of a bear; his webbed feet are similar; and its claws resemble those of reptiles. Behind all this diversity is definitely the hand of God, and certainly not evolution!

The physiological diversity of the platypus is simply breathtaking. The spurs located on the back legs of the platypus secrete a poisonous substance. This venom is almost as strong as the venom of most venomous snakes! This feature makes the platypus the only poisonous animal in the world whose body is covered with hair (see Fade, p. 112). Stuart Burgess in his book "Signs of Design" draws attention to the following:

« Platypus, like an ordinary mammal, feeds its cubs with milk. However, unlike other mammals, the platypus does not have nipples for feeding. Milk enters through the holes located on his body!” (2000, p. 111).

It is with the help of nipples that mammals feed their cubs. Platypus violates this rule and uses the holes on the body as a way to feed their offspring. If you look at these functions of the platypus in terms of evolutionary classification, they seem paradoxical. However, from a creationist perspective, explaining why God created something so different from all other animals becomes much easier.

The fossil record also confirms the fact that platypus is a real being that did not evolve from a common ancestor. Scott M. Hughes writes:

“There are several good reasons to disagree with the evolutionary interpretation of the origin of the platypus. Some of these reasons are the following facts: (1) The fossilized remains of the platypus are absolutely identical to modern forms. (2) The complex structures of the egg or mammary glands are always fully developed and do nothing to explain the origin and development of the uterus and platypus milk. (3) More typical mammals are found in strata much lower than the egg-laying platypus. Thus, the platypus is a special kind of animal that was specially created in order to have such diverse features” (1997, p. 149).

Evolutionists are unable to explain the anatomical structure platypus; they cannot explain its physiological features; and they don't know how to explain this animal in terms of evolutionary processes. One thing is clear: the diversity of the platypus confuses evolutionary scientists. This being can only be explained as the result of the work of the guiding hand of God.

Links and notes

1. Burgess, Stewart (2000) Design Features(Epsom, Surrey: Day One Publications).
2. Feid, Robert W. (1990) Scientific Approach to Christianity(Green Forest, AR: Leaf Press).
3. Ham, Ken (2002) Is it true that Eve had more Ribs?(Green Forest, AR: Master Books).
4. Hughes, Scott H. (1997) Failure of Evolution(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books).
5. Taj, Colin (2000) Variety of Life(Great Clarendon St., Oxford: Oxford University Press).
6. Went, Herbert (1959) Outside Noah's Ark, trans. Michael Bullock (Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press).

Despite the fact that the platypus is a mammal, it does not give birth to live young, but, like birds and reptiles, it lays eggs. This unusual waterfowl lives on the banks of small rivers and reservoirs in Eastern Australia and nearby islands.

electrolocation

The platypus has the ability to perceive the electrical signals of the environment, which helps it not only navigate in space, but also greatly facilitates the search for prey. When immersed in water, the eyes and nostrils of the animal are closed, and movement in the water space occurs due to special receptors located in the soft beak and performing the functions of an electrolocator. It is thanks to these sensitive receptors that the platypus can detect weak electric fields and go in search of a moving prey.

The image of a platypus can be seen on the reverse of the national coin of Australia with a face value of 20 cents.

• The soft flat beak, covered with elastic skin, reaches 65 cm in length and 50 cm in width.
• The auricles are absent, and the auditory canals end with simple openings.
• The five-fingered feet of the platypus are adapted for both swimming and burrowing.
• The paws of the platypus grow on the sides of the body, like those of reptiles. Therefore, when walking, it is very similar to these reptiles.
• It turns out that the male platypus is one of the few poisonous mammals whose venom is contained in the spurs on their hind legs. In females, such spurs do not develop and fall off at the age of one. Platypus venom is deadly for a small animal, but it does not pose a great danger to humans, but severe swelling develops at the injection site!
• The excess fat accumulated in the tail helps the animal cope with periods of hunger.
• The normal body temperature of a platypus is only 32 ° C, moreover, it largely depends on the ambient temperature. However, even in very cold water, he can only maintain his usual temperature by increasing his metabolic rate by more than three times.
• Special membranes are stretched between the paws of the animal, which fold as soon as the platypus is on land, and do not interfere with its walking.

Life by the water

Platypuses are nocturnal semi-aquatic animals that inhabit the shores of ponds with stagnant water and small rivers. This unusual waterfowl lives in a burrow up to 10 m long. As a rule, the burrow has two entrances: one from the water side, the second from the land, located under the roots of trees. When swimming, the platypus uses its front paws, while the hind legs act as a rudder. Being an excellent swimmer and diver, the platypus spends up to 10 hours in the water, mostly at night.

Exceptional voracity

It is known that the platypus is very voracious. Most often, the mass of food eaten reaches a quarter of its weight, and in females during lactation, even more! The basis of food is small aquatic animals, as well as invertebrates: crustaceans, tadpoles, worms. The platypus also eats aquatic vegetation and the larvae of various insects. With his flat beak, he raises the silt and catches all the small disturbed inhabitants of the bottom. The platypus has special cheek pouches that it fills with food, and in order to grind all the reserves, it rises to the surface or comes ashore.

You should know it

• International scientific name: Ornithorhynchus anatinus.
• Guard status: causing the least concern.
• Characteristic: body length of an adult animal ranges from 30 to 40 cm, tail - 10-15 cm; weight reaches 2 kg. The coat of the platypus is thick, brown in color, with reddish hues on the belly. Lifespan in the wild is unknown, with an average of 10 years in captivity.
• It is interesting: The platypus has 10 sex chromosomes, not 2 like most mammals.