15th
November
2008
Fascinating Facts About The Duckbill Platypus
posted in Amazing Facts, Animal Species |
Most of us know that platypuses are unique because they are mammals (echidnas also lay eggs) but they also lay eggs. They live only in the Australian continent. However, even if you leave that, they still can be fascinating because of certain facts about their ways.
Read on to know more about them:
- When it was first discovered many scientists that the discovery was some kind of a hoax
The animal is a combination of a duck (webbed feet and bill), an otter (fur and body) and a beaver (its tail). - Male platypuses are poisonous. With their sharp spikes on the heels of their rear feet they can give quite a toxic blow to their enemies.
- Platypuses hunt for their food under water. They have skin folds that provide protection to their eyes and ears from water. They swim a beaver.
- A platypus can stay under water without breathing for a couple of minutes.
- A platypus can sense food with its bill. They love to eat larvae, insects, shellfish and worms.
- Platypuses do not have teeth. They take in gravel with their food which helps them to chew. They have cheek pouches for this purpose.
- They lay eggs which hatch within ten days. Platypus kids are as small as lima beans. Mother platypuses take care of them for four months (which is quite long for animals) till they can swim on their own.
- In spite of their webbed feet they can run pretty well on the land.