Platypus are found in eastern Australia from the steamy tropics of far north Queensland to the freezing snows of Tasmania. In Queensland, platypus live in rivers east of the Great Dividing Range, and are also found in some western-flowing streams. In north Queensland, the range of the platypus is close to the coast.
The platypus is a remarkable mammal found only in Australia.
The platypus is a duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed, egg-laying aquatic creature native to Australia.
According to the IUCN Red List, between 30,000 and 300,000 platypus are thought to have lived in Australia in 2016.
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
Inspiring Action. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park is home to two platypuses—the only platypuses outside of Australia.
Platypus are found in eastern Australia from the steamy tropics of far north Queensland to the freezing snows of Tasmania. In Queensland, platypus live in rivers east of the Great Dividing Range, and are also found in some western-flowing streams. In north Queensland, the range of the platypus is close to the coast.
There are only five living monotreme species: the duck-billed platypus and four species of echidna (also known as spiny anteaters). All of them are found only in Australia and New Guinea.
'Chilesaurus can be considered a 'platypus' dinosaur because different parts of its body resemble those of other dinosaur groups due to mosaic convergent evolution. In this process, a region or regions of an organism resemble others of unrelated species because of a similar mode of life and evolutionary pressures.
Aboriginal people had many different regional names for the platypus, including “boondaburra”, “mallingong” and “tambreet”. According to Aboriginal legend, the platypus originated when a young female duck mated with a lonely and persuasive water-rat.
They are shy animals and will avoid confrontation with humans if they can help it. They aren't equipped with teeth that can help them bite, and the only form of defense they have is the pointed spurs in their heels. However, if platypuses are handled in the wild, they can prick you with their spur and inject venom.
It's sometimes claimed that an elephant is the only land mammal that can't jump. However, we feel quite confident that a platypus is at least as inept as an elephant when it comes to launching itself off the ground.
Platypuses are long-lived animals both in captivity and in the wild, living up to approximately 20 years.
The distribution of the platypus in Australia spans from Cooktown in northern Queensland to Tasmania (Figure 1). In Queensland, platypuses are primarily distributed in eastern flowing rivers and waterways, but their distribution is limited elsewhere in the state.
Exclusive to Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania, the platypus and the echidna are the only two mammals known to lay eggs! These are two types of eggs which are definitely not suitable for eating. A platypus egg is pretty small. At not even a ½ inch in diameter, you'd need a whole bunch!
Platypus use their webbed front feet for swimming. On land, the webbing, which extends beyond the long front claws, is folded back to enable the animal to walk and burrow.
The Platypus is also called the duck-billed platypus. How many Platypuses are left in the world? There are 300,000 Platypuses left in the world. How fast is a Platypus?
Platypuses were hunted for food by Aboriginal people by digging them from their burrows or spearing them while swimming (Robinson & Plomley 2008). The platypus' tail is rich in fats may have been particularly important in cold conditions.
'One of the reasons I think the modern form is persisting as well as it is in Australian waterways, is that the platypus is a generalist,' Dr Serena says. 'They are intelligent and long-lived, reaching the age of up to 21 years in the wild.
There are numerous names in Aboriginal languages including Kooelwong, Colo, Coloo, Coola, Colah, koobor, Koolah and Kaola.
But while today's platypus is about the size of your average house cat, this ancient variety, which existed between 5 to 15 million years ago, was much bigger: At about three feet long, it was approximately the size of a bulldog.
About the size of a child, the largest-known platypus roamed what is now Australia as far back as 15 million years ago, according to newfound fossil remains of the giant monotreme.
More than 80% of our plants, mammals, reptiles and frogs are unique to Australia and are found nowhere else in the world. Some of our Australian animals are very well known like kangaroos, dingos, wallabies and wombats and of course the koala, platypus and echidna.
There are no wild monkeys in Australia. The separation and extreme distancing of the Australia continent predated the evolution of monkeys. As such, many species indigenous to Australia are unique to that continent while many other species found throughout the world are not present at all.