The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is one of the world's most unusual animals. It is often described as a living fossil - a furry, egg-laying mammal which retains some marks of reptiles. In this section you can learn more about this very special Australian mammal. 
Aboriginal legend
According to Aboriginal legend, the first platypus were born after a young female duck mated with a lonely water-rat. The duck's offspring [ babies ] had their mother's bill and webbed feet and after their father's four legs and brown fur.
The Fossil Record
The archaeologists in New South Wales found a jaw fragment of an ancient platypus which lived alongside with the dinosaurs approximately 110 million years ago.
The archaeologists in New South Wales found a jaw fragment of an ancient platypus which lived alongside with the dinosaurs approximately 110 million years ago.
Scientific recognition
In 1799, the platypus was first described by a British scientist, Dr George Shaw. His first reaction to this original specimen was that it was an fake and not real animal. He even took a pair of scissors to the pelt, expecting to find stitches attaching the bill to the skin.
In 1799, the platypus was first described by a British scientist, Dr George Shaw. His first reaction to this original specimen was that it was an fake and not real animal. He even took a pair of scissors to the pelt, expecting to find stitches attaching the bill to the skin.
Platypus names
Early British colonists in Australia called the platypus a "water mole". Prior to the arrival of European settlers, Aboriginal people had many different names for the animal, including "boondaburra", "mallingong" and "tambreet".
Dr Shaw, in his scientific description of 1799, gave the name Platypus anatinus, from Greek and Latin words meaning "flat-footed, duck-like". However, when it became known that Platypus had already been used to name a group of beetles, a new term had to be adopted. The official scientific name became and remains Ornithorhynchus anatinus, with the first word meaning "bird-like snout".
Although the name "duckbill" was widely used as a popular description for the animal, the abandoned scientific name "platypus" gradually became the accepted common name for the species.
Previous range
From fossils discovered in Argentina, we know that the ancestors of platypus were found in South America as well as Australia until at least 60 million years ago - when the two land masses were still joined together as part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana.
Current range
The platypus lives only in Australia. Populations occur in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland to about as far north as Cooktown. In South Australia, apart from an introduced population surviving on Kangaroo Island, the species is considered rare and possibly extinct in the wild.
Platypus occupy a wide variety of permanent streams, rivers and lakes and may also use temporary or manmade water bodies, particularly when these are linked directly to streams or rivers.
Status
The platypus is officially classified as "Common but Vulnerable" in Australia. As a species, it is not currently considered to be endangered.
Number of platypus
Platypus surveys have only been carried out in a few catchments in eastern Australia. It is therefore impossible to provide an accurate estimate of the total number of platypus remaining in the wild.
Based on recent studies, the average platypus population density along relatively good quality streams in the foothills of Victoria's Great Dividing Range is only around one to two animals per kilometre of channel. Because platypus are predators near the top of the food chain and require large amounts of food to survive (up to about 30% of a given animal's body weight each day), it is believed that their numbers are most often limited by the availability of food, mainly in the form of bottom-dwelling aquatic invertebrates.Platypus poison
This information is brand new for me, I did not know about it.The platypus is the only Australian mammal known to be venomous. Adult males have a pointed spur (about 15 millimetres long) located just above the heel of each hind leg, which can be used to inject poison produced by a gland in the thigh (the crural gland).Venom is only secreted by mature males, with production peaking during the platypus breeding season in late winter and spring. It is therefore presumed that males mainly use their spurs when competing for mates or breeding territories.
If provoked, a male platypus can use his spurs as a defensive weapon. In the days when platypus were shot for their fur, dogs were sometimes killed after being sent to retrieve a wounded male from the water. These days, people mainly get spurred when they handle a platypus which has become hooked inadvertently on a fishing line.
Platypus venom is not considered to be life-threatening to a healthy human. However, spurring is painful - in part, because platypus spurs are sharp and can be driven in with great force. As well, platypus poison triggers severe pain in the affected limb and can result in quite spectacular localised swelling.
Platypus venom is not considered to be life-threatening to a healthy human. However, spurring is painful - in part, because platypus spurs are sharp and can be driven in with great force. As well, platypus poison triggers severe pain in the affected limb and can result in quite spectacular localised swelling.
Platypus should never be handled, except in an emergency - for example, to extract a fishing hook that has become embedded in a platypus's bill.
