Duck-billed Platypus
Ornithorhynchus anatinus
Where is it found?
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Freshwater streams and lakes
Diet and foraging method
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The bill contains an organ that detects electric pulses produced by prey.
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Key adaptations
Platypus have powerful front legs that they use to make burrows in stream banks. They also have webbed feet and a beaver like tail to help them swim.
Social organisation and mating system
Solitary
Polygynous
Did you know that...?
Males have poison spurs on their hind feet used as a weapon for defending themselves.
Taxonomy
Picture credits:
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Platypus" by Stefan Kraft - Selbst fotografiert am 20.9.2004 im Sydney Aquarium.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platypus.jpg#/media/File:Platypus.jpg
"Gould John Duckbilled Platypus 1845-1863" by John Gould - The mammals of Australia (1845-1863). Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gould_John_Duckbilled_Platypus_1845-1863.png#/media/File:Gould_John_Duckbilled_Platypus_1845-1863.png
"Platypus by Lewin" by John Lewin - From a collection at State Library of NSW's Pictures and Manuscripts. Digital order no. : a928146. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platypus_by_Lewin.jpg#/media/File:Platypus_by_Lewin.jpg
"Platypus" by Stefan Kraft - Selbst fotografiert am 20.9.2004 im Sydney Aquarium.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platypus.jpg#/media/File:Platypus.jpg
"Gould John Duckbilled Platypus 1845-1863" by John Gould - The mammals of Australia (1845-1863). Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gould_John_Duckbilled_Platypus_1845-1863.png#/media/File:Gould_John_Duckbilled_Platypus_1845-1863.png
"Platypus by Lewin" by John Lewin - From a collection at State Library of NSW's Pictures and Manuscripts. Digital order no. : a928146. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Platypus_by_Lewin.jpg#/media/File:Platypus_by_Lewin.jpg