At this stage, they will begin eating adult food, including insect larvae, freshwater shrimp and freshwater crayfish. Both sexes are born with spur buds on their hind feet, but after a year or so, the female's will drop off.
On the males, these will continue to grow and are attached to a sac containing poison. The animals become sexually mature at two years old and are known to successfully mate as late as nine years old.
The platypus only mates between June and October. The animals are not monogamous. Scientific Name: Ornithorhynchus anatinus.
Type: Mammals. Diet: Carnivore. Size: Head and body: 15 inches; tail: 5 inches. Weight: 3 pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. Near threatened. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Decreasing. Share Tweet Email. Go Further. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.
Platypus is endemic to Australia and is dependent on rivers, streams and bodies of freshwater. It is present in eastern Queensland and New South Wales, eastern, central and southwestern Victoria and throughout Tasmania. The western limits of the range are poorly known. Nowadays it is extinct from that state, except for the introduced population on the western end of Kangaroo Island. There is no evidence that the animal occurred naturally in Western Australia, despite several unsuccessful attempts to introduce it there.
Within its current distribution, the occurrence of the Platypus is reasonably continuous in some, but discontinuous in other catchments. Platypuses are active all year round, but mostly during twilight and in the night.
During day, individuals shelter in a short burrow in bank. The activity patterns of these animals are determined by a number of factors including: locality, human activity, ambient temperatures, day length and food availability. The Platypus feeds mainly during the night on a wide variety of aquatic invertebrates. The average foraging periods last for hours per day, and the distances the animals move during this time vary between individuals and their distribution.
The animal closes its eyes, ears and nostrils when foraging underwater and its primary sense organ is the bill, equipped with receptors sensitive to pressure, and with electro-receptors. The precise way in which the Platypus uses the bill to detect prey is still unknown, but the bill serves to find and sift small prey from the substrate, while larger prey is taken individually.
The Platypus stays underwater for between seconds, collecting the invertebrates from the river bottom and storing them in its cheek-pouches. It then chews the food using its horny, grinding plates, while it floats and rests on the water surface.
Diet of the Platypus consists mainly of the benthic invertebrates, particularly the insect larvae. The species also feeds on free-swimming organisms: shrimps, swimming beetles, water bugs and tadpoles, and at times worms, freshwater pea mussels and snails. Occasionally the animals catch cicadas and moths from the water surface.
In captivity, the Platypuses are often fed freshwater crayfish Yabbies. When swimming, the Platypus presents a low profile, with three small humps the head, back and tail visible above the water surface. The swimming action is smooth, and when the Platypus dives the back is arched as the animal plunges underwater, creating a spreading ring.
These characteristics coupled with the absence of visible ears distinguish the Platypus from the dog-paddle style of the Water-rat. Platypuses can swim through fast waters at the speed of around 1 metre per second, but when foraging the speed is closer to 0. However, the Platpus is not well adapted for walking on land.
The Platypus is largely a solitary animal, but several individuals can share the same body of water. The vocalisation has not been recorded in the wild, but captive animals produce a low-pitched growling sounds when disturbed or handled.
Young Platypuses do not seem to reproduce in their first year of life, instead, both sexes become reproductive in their second year. Still, many females do not breed until they are at least 4 years old. After mating, a female will lay eggs usually 2 following a days gestation period. She then incubates the eggs for possibly 10 days, after which the lactation period lasts for months before the young emerge from the burrow.
Platypuses are long-lived animals both in captivity and in the wild, living up to approximately 20 years. The venom which is delivered can kill smaller animals but is non-lethal to humans. It creates intense pain and swelling develops near the wound. In the end this will die down but a high sensitivity to pain will be felt by the victim for months to come.
It is believed this venom is not used to injure prey but instead to assert dominance over other males. The female also has a rudimentary spur but this drops off within their first year alive. Predators of the platypus include water rats, snakes , hawks, eagles, owls and monitor lizards. The platypus is seen to have a nocturnal or crepuscular activity pattern.
On the days the sky is overcast they may also be active. Platypus are excellent at swimming. They alternate the movement of their front feet to propel them forward. The back feet are only used for steering. A distinguishing feature of this species is that you cannot see their ears while they swim.
When the platypus was first sent to Europe for study the scientists believed it was a prank. The Australian 20 cent coin features a platypus on the tail side. There is still yet to be a decision on what the plural of platypus is. Many suggestions exist including platypi, platypoda and platypuses and platypus.
Their name platypus is derived from 2 latin words. Platypi are also commonly referred to as duck billed platypuses. Middle Two. Under License. Woodroffe, R. Lycaon pictus amended version of assessment.
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