They spend most of their time in the water, but also have burrows in the side of riverbanks where they rest. They inhabit small streams and the surrounding areas. They are native to Eastern Australia, ranging from the colder highlands to tropical rainforests. Hawks, owls, eagles, snakes, water rats, goanna and crocodiles They are so odd, that the first scientists to encounter them thought they were fake.ĥ0cm (20in) in length, Females: 43cm (17in)Ĭrustaceans (freshwater shrimp and crayfish), insect larvae It’s famous for its odd appearance, with a duck-shaped bill, a beaver-like tail, and the feet of an otter. from Michigan State University.The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi-aquatic, egg-laying mammal that is native to Australia, and often referred to as the ‘duck-billed platypus’. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Alabama and his Ph.D. Whit Gibbons, professor emeritus of ecology, University of Georgia, grew up in Tuscaloosa. When you make your list of strangest living species, be sure to include the duckbill platypus. ” Even their DNA is special.Ĭurious behaviors and remarkable physical attributes can be found in plants and animals around the world, from exotic locales to your own backyard. A recent scientific paper by molecular geneticists stated that duckbill platypuses exhibit “a fascinating combination of reptilian and mammalian. But no animal other than the duckbilled platypus has the whole suite: eggs and mammary glands, venom, webbed feet, a bill like a duck and an ability to use electricity. Knifefishes and electric eels are able to create and detect electrical currents. Using the special organs on their bill to detect electrical impulses created by prey, platypuses can locate worms and insect larvae in dark, murky waters. They outdo all waterfowl by having a bill that can detect electrical signals created by the muscular activity of animals swimming underwater. The iconic creatures from Down Under are the only mammal with both. Because the venom is produced only during mating season, scientists presume it is used in some capacity related to mating behavior.īeavers and ducks have webbed feet, and ducks sport a flat bill. The venomous spines are only present in males and are not known to be used in capturing prey. The venom glands of platypuses are located on the hind feet, which have a sharp, protruding, grooved spur. Its salivary glands produce venom that enters the body of small animals when the shrew bites them. The southeastern short-tailed shrew is another. The platypus is also distinctive in its role as a venomous mammal. The mother has mammary glands that produce milk with which she nurses the babies for more than 3 months. A female platypus lays 1 to 3 eggs, usually 2, that she curls around in a burrow for about 10 days before they hatch. Platypuses are one of the few mammals to lay eggs, the others being spiny anteaters of Australia and New Guinea. But no other animal exhibits such a bizarre combination of characteristics inside a single furry coat. Platypuses do not have an array of behavioral or morphological traits that are unique in the animal kingdom. At the time it was an unbelievable oddity. It was introduced to the Western world in the form of a preserved skin sent to England. The platypus was unknown to science until 1799. Nonetheless the animal itself is one of the most exceptional mammals on earth and I saw it in the wild. Nothing particularly strange about that sight it looked to me like any muskrat I might see in similar situations in the eastern United States. I once saw a platypus swimming, then diving beneath the surface of a lake near Adelaide, Australia. What’s the deadliest snake, the prettiest butterfly, the biggest tree you have ever seen? I sometimes have to think about my answer but deciding on the strangest animal I’ve seen in the wild was easy: the duckbill platypus. When I finished the story about this intriguing creature, my companion did not ask about other spiders that might be around but instead said, “What’s the strangest animal you have ever seen in the wild?” I’ve been asked this question many times in various guises. Attacking from inside the tube, it bites through the thick webbing, grabs the prey and pulls it inside. When an insect, their main prey, crawls on the column of silk that constitutes the web, the spider feels the vibrations and comes up the tube from belowground. Purseweb spiders have huge jaws and fangs they employ in an unusual manner. The web resembles a gray, footlong dead twig an inch in diameter leaning against the base of an oak tree. Last week, I showed someone a purseweb spider’s home, the lair of a monster.
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