Platypus

The Platypus may just be the craziest animal in the world that you get to learn about so let's begin! The Platypus is a semiaquatic mammal. Males weigh around 3.7 pounds while females are sexually dimorphic only weighing 2.0 pounds. Males are 20 inches long while females are 17 inches long. When the Platypus was first formally described they thought the man who discovered it they the he sewed on a beavers tail onto and otters body and added a duck bill. One incredible features of the Platypus it has 40,000 electroreceptors in its bill which it uses them by sensing electromagnetic fields and that helps it find prey. Another incredible feature of the platypus is it is one of the only venomous mammals in the world. Both males and females are born with the spurs, but males are the only ones who carry it to adulthood. Males use it to spar over females and just for defense. Platypuses live in Eastern Australia, Southeastern Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, New south Wales, and their is a small population on Kangaroo Island. The species is mainly nocturnal, but in the Summer they shift and become more Crepuscular. The Platypus is a carnivore it feeds on larvae, annelid worms, tadpoles, crayfish, shrimp, bivalves, and fish eggs. It has a wide diet, but it also is prey for many other species of animals. Some of them include Murray Cod, Eels, Crocodiles, Goannas, Eagles, Snakes, and foxes. The Platypus's breeding season is between June and October. After a female find a mate they retreat to a burrow that can be almost 98 feet underground, and there they lay their eggs. Also they are 1 out of only two egg laying mammals. I hope you enjoyed learning about the Platypus.