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The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), [4] sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, [5] is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family Ornithorhynchidae and genus Ornithorhynchus , though a number of related species ...
Platypus are generally found in slow-moving rivers and small pools and are highly adapted to a semi-aquatic life. [38] They have extremely dense fur, large webs on their feet extending well beyond the toenails, a broad, flat tail and excellent swimming ability, paddling with their forelegs in alternating strokes, with their hindlegs and tail ...
They can also be found on Kangaroo Island, which is located off the southern coast of Australia. Although, even if you’re in Australia, a platypus may be hard to find roaming the wild. They are ...
The platypus has an average body temperature of about 31 °C (88 °F) rather than the averages of 35 °C (95 °F) for marsupials and 37 °C (99 °F) for placentals. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] Research suggests this has been a gradual adaptation to the harsh, marginal environmental niches in which the few extant monotreme species have managed to survive ...
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The venom-delivering spur is found only on the male's hind limbs. The platypus is one of the few living mammals to produce venom.The venom is made in venom glands that are connected to hollow spurs on their hind legs; it is primarily made during the mating season. [1]
This contrasts with the modern platypus, where adults are entirely toothless. It has been theorized that the loss of teeth in the platypus was a geologically recent event, occurring only in the Pleistocene (after over 95 million years of tooth presence in the ornithorhynchid lineage) after the migration of the rakali ( Hydromys chrysogaster ...
At 33 °C (91.4 °F), echidnas also possess the second-lowest active body temperature of all mammals, behind the platypus. Despite their appearance, echidnas are capable swimmers, as they evolved from platypus-like ancestors. When swimming, they expose their snout and some of their spines, and are known to journey to water to bathe. [9]