The common name "platypus" literally means 'flat-foot', deriving from the Greek word platúpous ( πλατύπους), from platús ( πλατύς 'broad, wide, flat') and poús ( πούς 'foot').
PLATYPUS FACTS SKIN
Shaw even took a pair of scissors to the dried skin to check for stitches. It was thought that somebody had sewn a duck's beak onto the body of a beaver-like animal. George Shaw, who produced the first description of the animal in the Naturalist's Miscellany in 1799, stated it was impossible not to entertain doubts as to its genuine nature, and Robert Knox believed it might have been produced by some Asian taxidermist. British scientists' initial hunch was that the attributes were a hoax. When the platypus was first encountered by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to Great Britain by Captain John Hunter, the second Governor of New South Wales. The species is classified as a near-threatened species by the IUCN, but a November 2020 report has recommended that it is upgraded to threatened species under the federal EPBC Act, due to habitat destruction and declining numbers in all states.įrederick Nodder's illustration from the first scientific description in 1799 of " Platypus anatinus"
It is listed as an endangered species in South Australia and Victoria and has been recommended for listing in New South Wales. Although captive-breeding programs have had only limited success, and the platypus is vulnerable to the effects of pollution, it is not under any immediate threat.Īs of 2020, the platypus is a legally protected species in all states where it occurs. Until the early 20th century, humans hunted the platypus for its fur, but it is now protected throughout its range. It has appeared as a mascot at national events and features on the reverse of the Australian twenty-cent coin, and the platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales. It is culturally significant to several Aboriginal peoples of Australia, who also used to hunt the animal for food. The unique features of the platypus make it an important subject in the study of evolutionary biology, and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia. The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, and the first scientists to examine a preserved platypus body (in 1799) judged it a fake, made of several animals sewn together. It is one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom, capable of causing severe pain to humans. Like other monotremes, it senses prey through electrolocation. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family ( Ornithorhynchidae) and genus ( Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species appear in the fossil record. The platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
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