![]() Females also dig elaborate nesting burrows around 20 m long with multiple chambers and earth plugs which they share with their unweaned young. They often have multiple burrows scattered along their home range and adults typically occupy a burrow alone, although different platypuses may use the same burrow on different days. However they can also occupy lakes and farm dams and even can be found in some streams moderately degraded by human activities.īurrowing Platypus spend around half their day resting in short, oval-shaped burrows of about 3 to 8 m long that they dig into earth banks around rivers, lakes or streams. Ideal platypus habitat includes rivers or streams with earth banks consolidated by the roots of native vegetation, abundant invertebrate prey, cobbled or gravel substrates, overhanging shady vegetation and a sequence of pools and riffles. Platypus are semi-aquatic and require access to freshwater habitats to forage, and earth banks to dig their burrows. They also occur on King Island, the only Tasmanian offshore island known to have platypus. In Tasmania, platypus are widely spread across the state and are common in the lakes of the Central Highlands as well as the rivers and streams of the south, south-west and north-west coasts. Since platypus legs extend out from the sides of their bodies, they walk with a reptilian waddle, rather than a straight-line gait.ĭistribution and habitatThe platypus is widespread in the eastern states of Australia, in the streams and rivers predominantly east of the Great Dividing Range. They have a smooth swimming action, together with a low body profile and no visible ears which makes them easily recognisable in the water. The fur on the broad flat tail is coarse and bristly. They have two layers of fur - a dense waterproof outercoat and a grey woolly underfur to provide insulation. The underside is a golden colour or silky grey. Platypuses are usually a deep brown colour on the back and sides of the head, body and upper surfaces of the limbs. Tasmanian platypus are relatively huge, with some adult males weighing up to 3 kg. Average platypus size increases with latitude, with the platypuses in north Queensland generally being the smallest where males average about 1 kg. Then the top of their head, back and tail can be seen - like the tip of an iceberg, the rest remains submerged.Īn adult platypus can be from 45 cm to 60 cm long, with females generally smaller than males. Since platypus dive repeatedly for food, they generally are only sighted when they briefly return to the surface to breathe. ![]() All other mammals are in the subclass Theria and give birth to live young.ĪppearancePlatypus are readily identified by their streamlined body, webbed feet, broad tail and characteristic bill, which is rubbery and contains no true teeth. Platypus and echidnas are the only existing species of monotremes (egg laying mammals) on earth. Although many people have never seen one in the wild (due to their secretive and often nocturnal habits), most Australians strongly support their conservation. Since that time platypuses have continued to fascinate scientists and the public alike. This iconic mammal was so weird that when specimens first reached Europe at the end of the 19th century they were considered fakes. The platypus is characterised by a soft, toothless rubbery bill, webbed feet, fur and a single external opening to the urinary, digestive and reproductive tracts. Platypuses are frequently observed in the sometimes rare streams, rivers and lakes of one of the driest continents on the planet, where they often spend about 12 hours a day searching for food. ![]() Some aspects of their skeletons are similar to reptiles. Males have venomous spurs, females secrete milk through their skin, and their young are born into burrows dug into earth banks. It uses electro-receptors in its rubbery bill to find food on the bottom of freshwater streams, lakes and ponds. ![]() It occupies a wide range of habitats from alpine streams and ponds that freeze in winter, to the tepid waters of tropical north Queensland. The platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is an egg-laying, semi-aquatic mammal that lives in Tasmania and along the eastern coast of mainland Australia. ![]()
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