Platypus Facts | Duck-billed Platypuses

An animal with a bill like a duck, a tail like a beaver, and feet like an otter sounds like something a mad scientist would create. Add to the list the ability to lay lizard-like eggs and shoot poison out of your foot, and you have a unique creature indeed.

The platypus is a monotreme, which is an egg-laying mammal! Photo by phototrip / iStock.com.

You have the platypus, a monotreme (an egg-laying mammal) that is indigenous to freshwater rivers and lakes in eastern Australia and Tasmania.

Roughly the size of a house cat, the platypus is between 30-60 cm (12-24 in.) in length and weighs 1-2 kg (2-4 lb.).

Waterproof Hair

The platypus is covered in thick, dark brown hair over most its body. The thick hair is waterproof and helps keep the platypus warm and dry when in the water, where it spends most of its time.

Platypuses have thick hair that is waterproof so they stay warm in the water. Photo by slowmotiongli / iStock.com.

Webbed Paws

Webbed paws and short legs that protrude from the sides of the body allow the platypus to swim and dive with ease.

Naturally buoyant, platypuses must keep swimming in order to stay underwater.

Wide Tails

You might think platypuses use their wide tails to propel themselves through the water, similar to a beaver. However, their tails are actually used to store fat.

Platypuses use their tails to store fat. Photo by JohnCarnemolla / iStock.com.

Platypus Venom

Male platypuses possess two small spurs, one on each hind paw. The spurs release enough toxic venom to kill a small animal or be incredibly painful for a human.

Male platypuses have a spur on each of their hind feet which can release venom. Photo by slowmotiongli / iStock.com.

While this weapon is used against predators if threatened (the platypus would actually rather run than fight), it is primarily used against other male platypuses during mating season. They fight to show dominance and scare away potential mating rivals.

What Platypuses Eat

Platypuses feed on worms and freshwater shrimp.

How Platypuses Hunt

In order to hunt, the platypus relies on its bill to sense other animals. The bill, which is actually a soft, leathery snout, has electro-receptors that pick up on the small electrical signals sent by animals when they move.

Platypuses use their soft, leathery bills to detect the electrical signals of their prey. Photo by slowmotiongli / iStock.com.

The platypus will then store the food in its cheeks and wait to resurface before eating.

Although they have no teeth, platypuses have grinding pads in their mouths to crush and grind their food.

Platypus Reproduction

The platypus mating season is between June and October. Around 2 years of age, both male and female platypuses are ready to mate.

After successfully mating, two or three eggs develop in the female. After about a month, the female lays the eggs, which are soft like lizard eggs.

She will incubate the eggs by curling around them for 10 days before they hatch. The male will have nothing to do with the eggs or newborns.

Newborn platypuses, called puggles, are born blind and hairless. They feed on their mother’s milk, which is expelled through pores on her body. The babies suckle on milk for 3-4 months.

Platypuses have a lifespan of over 10 years in the wild.

Platypuses lay soft eggs which hatch after ten days. Photo by Michel VIARD / iStock.com.

Conservation Status

Platypuses are listed as near threatened by the IUCN Red List. The main threat to platypuses is the loss of stream and river flows due to drought and agricultural development.

They are also preyed upon by snakes, bird of prey, cats, dogs and non-native red foxes.