7 interesting facts about the platypus

The platypus in Australia is second only to the kangaroo in popularity. This is another unique animal for the smallest mainland. The platypus belongs to the subclass of the first animals. These are the surviving representatives of one of the earliest branches of mammals.

• 1. Platypuses are poisonous

  They may look nice and cute, but if you meet a male platypus during mating season, you may be in for a painful shock. The male platypus has a hollow appendage on each hind leg, like a large fingernail. It is connected to a gland that secretes poison. Although their venom is deadly, no deaths have been recorded from platypuses or their bites.

  On the positive side, scientists believe this poison could be used to treat diabetes one day.

  By the way, there are only three mammals that produce poison: the platypus, the slow loris and the European mole.

• 2. Platypuses feel the electromagnetic field

  Electroreception is the ability of animals to sense electric fields and electrical signals from the environment. Platypuses have special receptors for this.

  Like a shark, the platypus uses electrical impulses to detect underwater prey and locate objects in the dark depths of the streams and rivers they call home.

  They feed on insect larvae, freshwater shrimp, worms and yabbies, which they bring to the surface to eat.

• 3. The platypus lays eggs

  Even though the platypus is a mammal, it lays eggs. Along the platypus comes, of course, the prickly anteater, known to us as the echidna.

  The female platypus digs a hole in the ground and lays eggs. Most of these animals live near the aquatic environment, and as soon as the young platypuses hatch from the eggs, they enter the water, where they feed on insects, larvae and small organisms.

  The male platypus takes on the role of protector of the female and newborns, releasing the powerful toxin when threatened, which we have already written about above.

• 4. Platypuses have no stomach

  Almost all animals use the stomach to digest food. But the platypus has an esophagus, a passage through which food normally passes from the mouth to the stomach. It connects directly to the intestines.

  Platypuses have lost their stomachs during evolution because the substances that make up their food neutralize gastric juices. And, in fact, they did not need it to digest food.

• 5. The platypus has a tail like a beaver, but for a different purpose

  Platypus and beaver look like tailed twins! But the platypus does not use its tail to move through the water. It uses its tail as a place to store fat in case of food shortage. And the female platypus also uses its tail to hold the eggs against its body.

• 6. Platypuses sweat milk

  Even though platypuses lay eggs, they also produce milk for their babies. But they do it differently than other animals. They concentrate the milk in their belly and then sweat it out so that their young can suck it up from the folds of their skin or fur.

• 7. Platypuses were giants in the past

  Ancient versions of many modern animals, including penguins, were huge monsters compared to the animals we know today, and platypuses are no exception.

  In 2013, the discovery of a single tooth helped researchers identify a prehistoric platypus that was over a meter long - twice the size of a modern animal.

  The platypus has a lot in common with reptiles. In addition to eggs, their intestines and urogenital canal form a cloaca, as in birds and reptiles. However, the platypus remains a mammal. It feeds young animals with milk and maintains body temperature at 32 degrees.