Platypus Facts Duck-Billed Platypus

platypus swimming underwater
platypus swimming underwater

Photo: Platypus swimming underwater

The platypus is a small semi-aquatic Australian mammal with a rubbery duck-like beak, a beaver-like tail, and otter-like webbed feet with venomous spurs. It is a monotreme, one of only two animals that lays eggs like a bird—but feeds its babies milk like a mammal. For these reasons, when Europeans first saw this odd animal in 1798, they were convinced the platypus was a hoax—a humbug!

What the Correct
Plural of Platypus?

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Platypus Description

Platypus face and prominent bill

Photo: Platypus face and beak

The platypus is 35-50cm (14-20in) long, weighs 0.5-3kg (1-6.5lb), and is roughly the size of a cat. It has double-layered brown waterproof fur on its upper body and light grey or cream on its underside. Its front feet are fully webbed, while its back feet only have partial webbing. The platypus can retract the webbing on its feet, allowing it to navigate water and walk on land. Its broad flat tail acts as a stabiliser while swimming and stores fat reserves to draw on during hard times.

The most prominent feather of the platypus's flat head is its huge flat black rubbery beak - called a bill. This bill is equipped with thousands of sensitive electro-receptors which act like sonar, allowing the platypus to detect underwater obstacles and locate its prey. At the front of its bill are two nostrils that remain open while above water but close underwater to keep water out. Directly behind the bill are two grooves with eyes and ears that open and close like a pair of eyelids. In addition, the platypus has a third inner eyelid called a nictitating membrane – like in cats, birds and crocodiles - that works as an internal squeegee, wiping away dust and debris from the eye.

The platypus is a monotreme and has a single opening at the end of its body called a cloaca, into which its intestinal, genital, and urinary tracts connect. In most other mammals, there are two openings, the rectum/anus and reproductive tracts, such as the vagina and penis.

The platypus is also called a duck-billed platypus. The platypus's scientific name scientific name is Ornithorhynchus anatinus. Officially, a baby platypus is called a "baby platypus". However, it is sometimes called a puggle, but there is some debate about this usage.

• How the Platypus Got its Name


Platypus Venom Platypus Poison?

Venomous spurs on a male platypus

Photo: Venomous spur on male platypus's hind leg

Only the male platypus produces venom delivered through a spur on each hind limb that can rotate outwards 180 degrees to act like a sharp spike. The platypus attacks by clamping its hind legs around its victim and repeatedly jabbing its venom-injecting spurs. It may also cling tenaciously to its victim, requiring assistance for its removal.

Platypus venom is composed mainly of defensin-like peptides (OvDLPs) unique to the platypus. Swelling develops around the puncture wound and gradually spreads outward. While not fatal to humans, its venom can cause excruciating and prolonged pain strong enough to incapacitate its victim. Even powerful painkillers cannot suppress the pain, and no antivenom is available. Smaller animals, such as dogs, can die from platypus attacks.

The platypus is not aggressive and will only attack if provoked or during mating season when duelling with another male platypus when competing for females.

Is the Platypus Venomous or Poisonous?

A venomous animal injects or otherwise delivers its toxin into another animal. By contrast, a poisonous animal's entire body or parts of it may contain a harmful toxic substance if touched or eaten. Because the platypus injects its toxins, it is venomous–not poisonous.


Platypus Habitat Where do Platypus Live?

Platypus distribution map

Photo: Platypus habitat map

Platypus live in creeks, streams, billabongs, and ponds in eastern Australia, where the climate is temperate to sub-tropical. They prefer heavily wooded areas with steep and stable riverbanks into which they can dig their burrows. They also require waterways with gravelly or pebbled stream-bed, where their food sources are found.

A platypus establishes a home range and forages in that range. Its home range may overlap with other platypuses, but they do not have territorial disputes. Instead, they try to avoid each other, even changing their foraging schedule to do so.

Platypus burrow on on waterline on riverbank

Photo: Platypus home burrow on a riverbank

Platypuses build two types of burrows. Nesting burrows, constructed by females built deep into the riverbank, have an entrance point up to 4 meters away from the inner nesting chamber. On the other hand, camping burrows, built by both male and female platypuses, consist of a short tunnel of 1 to 2 meters leading to a dry nestling chamber. A platypus may have multiple camping burrows dispersed throughout its home range.


Platypus Diet What does a Platypus Eat?

Platypus searching for food underwater

Photo: Platypus foraging for food underwater

Platypuses feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates such as water beetles, snails, shrimp, mussels, worms, mayflies, black flies, and crayfish. Occasionally they also eat small frogs and fish. They forage for food mainly at night or in the evening.

The platypus hunts by moving its head from side to side as it swims underwater and picks up the tell-tale electrical signals given off by its prey. Then, quickly homing in on these signals, the platypus shovels them out of the stream-bed with its bill and pounces on them. It stores its catch temporarily in cheek pouches located just behind its jaw. Then, it continues to search for more prey. In 30 to 60 seconds, when its oxygen supply starts to run out, the platypus heads back up to the surface. Once on the surface, the platypus retrieves the morsels stored in its cheek pouches, grinds its food between two bony plates on their upper and lower jaws, and swallows the mashed-up food. The platypus spends 10-12 hours a day foraging for food and consumes 15-30% of its body mass in food each day.

The platypus does not have a stomach. Instead, it has a sac between its oesophagus and intestine that secretes powerful digestive acids and enzymes to break down its food. Scientists believe the platypus lost its stomach because its diet does not require a complex organ, such as a stomach, to break down its food.


Platypus Reproduction Platypus Mating, Eggs, Hatching, Baby

 Platypus egg in mother's pouch

Photo: Platypus egg in mother's pouch

During the mating season between June and October, a male platypus has only one aim: to win territory and secure any females within it. To do this, the male produces venom in its rear spurs and battles other males for the female's affection. These fights are rarely fatal; the toxins usually paralyse the loser until it retreats. The victor wins whatever females reside in his newly won territory. Females do not appear to be picky about the male they couple up with. They mate with any male in their territory, assuming he is probably the biggest and strongest in the area. The courting ritual lasts for several weeks, during which time the female plays coy and refuses his advances until she is receptive. She will indicate her readiness to mate by nipping the male on his tail. He will nip hers in return, and they will swim in a circle and indulge in other aquatic courting rituals for a few days more before mating. Copulation occurs when the male partially mounts the female, inserts his four-pronged penis in her cloaca and ejaculates into her. This process takes around 10 minutes. Once copulation is complete, the male departs to find another female, and the female starts preparing her nesting burrow.

Platypus baby puggle in mother's pouch

Photo: Platypus baby puggle in mother's pouch

The female lays one to three leathery white eggs, the size of small marbles (11 mm), about 2-3 weeks after mating. She positions these eggs in a slight depression on her belly and curls up its tail to cradle them. Kept warm by her, the eggs incubate for about ten days. About 9 mm in length, the young platypus hatchling breaks out of its egg by tearing the shell open with a small egg tooth on the tip of its snout and clawing its way out with its front feet.

Once the hatchlings are born, the mother's body secretes milk from two special paths on its skin (as the platypus does not have nipples like other mammals). Because its milk is deposited on the surface of the skin and doesn't offer the relative sterility of a nipple, its milk contains special antimicrobial chemicals which protect young from infection.

Two baby Platypus puggles

Photo: Platypus babies - puggles

Baby platypuses (sometimes called puggles) remain in the burrow for about 3-4 months feeding on milk and then on solids brought to them by their mother. When they finally emerge, they are about 80% of the length of an adult platypus and are fully furred. At this time, they need to fend for themselves, learning to swim and feed on their own. Platypuses reach sexual maturity at two years of age. The platypus has a lifespan of up to 17 years.


Platypus Walk (with Video) How Does a Platypus Walk?

Video of a platypus walking

Video: Platypus walking

On land, the platypus walks in a style similar to reptiles such as crocodiles or lizards. Its legs move from the side of its body rather than from under it. Furthermore, the platypus walks on its knuckles to prevent its webbed feet from getting entangled in vegetation. (Gorillas and chimpanzees also use knuckle-walking). Because a platypus is built for efficiency in water, it is not well adapted for walking on land. As a result, they rarely walk on dry land.

• Platypus Walking - Video


Platypus Swimming (with Video)How Does a Platypus Swim?

Platypus swimming underwater video

Video: Platypus swimming

The platypus is an expert swimmer and diver. It swims and propels itself underwater using its large webbed paddle-like front feet and steers with its tail and rear feet. It closes its eyes, nostrils, and ears when swimming underwater and uses its super-sensitive bill to guide it through the water. A Platypus usually remains submerged for about 4 minutes but can remain submerged for as long as 14 minutes. It can swim and dive at the rate of 12 meters per minute. While foraging for food, it travels at a speed of about half a meter per second. The platypus has a very low above-water profile making it hard to spot.

• Platypus Swimming - Video


Platypus Predators & Threats What Kills Platypuses?

Platypuses fall prey to dingoes, feral cats, foxes, large birds of prey and crocodiles. Domestic dogs, too, occasionally attack platypuses. Water-rats and goannas threaten the young platypuses in nesting burrows. Humans and climate change, however, pose the most significant risk to the survival of the platypus.


Is the Platypus Endangered? Platypus Conservation Status

The platypus is listed as 'Near Threatened' on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This means it risks becoming threatened if appropriate conservation measures aren't taken. Reasons for its decline include habitat loss and degradation, pollution, climate change, and predation from introduced species such as foxes. Conservation efforts for the platypus include monitoring and research for a better understanding of their populations and ecology, protecting and restoring their habitats, controlling the impacts of introduced species, and raising public awareness.


25 Platypus Facts

  1. The platypus is a mammal that lays eggs!
  2. This is very unusual because mammals don't usually lay eggs.
  3. It is called a monotreme because it has only one rear opening. (Other mammals have two openings).
  4. The platypus lives in the waterways of eastern Australia. It is only found in Australia.
  5. Platypuses are biofluorescent, their fur glows bluish-green under ultraviolet (UV) light.
  6. It has no nipples and oozes milk from pores in its skin instead.
  7. Baby platypuses are called puggles.
  8. The platypus is an example of what early mammals may have been like.
  9. The platypus is venomous. The male platypus's spurs can inject venom into its victim.
  10. The platypus is about the size of a cat.
  11. The platypus uses its webbed front feet to paddle through water, steers and brakes with its back feet and uses its tail as a stabiliser.
  12. It is also called the Duck-billed platypus because it has a beak like a duck.
  13. This beak is flat, rubbery and looks like it's made of plastic.
  14. Its beak works like a metal detector or radar to locate its prey under the gravel of a river bed.
  15. The platypus feeds on small bottom-dwelling creatures. Occasionally, it also eats fish, frogs and insects.
  16. The platypus stores its catch in cheek pouches.
  17. The platypus has no teeth.
  18. It grinds its food between two bony plates on its upper and lower jaws.
  19. It does not have a separate stomach.
  20. It has a relatively low body temperature of 32°C, which is low for a mammal.
  21. Males have venomous spurs on their hind legs.
  22. It is mainly active from dusk to dawn.
  23. During the day, it shelters in its burrow.
  24. The opening of the burrow has a tight fit and squeezes water from its fur.
  25. You cannot keep a platypus as a pet. It is illegal.



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