The platypus is in a group called monotremes or the order monotremata (Greek for “single hole” which refers to the cloaca). Monotremes are mammals that can be distinguished by their ability to lay eggs. The platypus is one of few mammals that are venomous; with the males having venomous spurs on their hind feet. It also has an odd appearance which includes a bill like a duck, a tail like a beaver, and webbed feet. They are approximately the size of a household cat.
The first platypus specimen recorded was sent to naturalist George Shaw, keeper of the Department of Natural History at the British Museum, in 1799. It was sent to him from Captain John Hunter in Australia. When naturalist first came across the animal it was thought to be a fraud. The name platypus is derived from the Greek words "platys" meaning “flat, broad” and "pous", meaning "flat foot". However there is no agreed upon plural for its name. Early settlers called it by names such as watermole, duckbill and duckmole. The prefix “duck-billed is often added to the name platypus despite there only being one species of platypus.
They live in freshwater and rivers of eastern Australia where they live in burrows dug on the banks. They feed underwater by storing the food in pouches in their mouth until they resurface. They have an electrical sensitive bill they use to detect electrical currents within the water to find insect larvae, shrimp, crayfish or frog eggs. Primarily nocturnal and a solitary animal they are not often seen, but may be spotted in groups during the mating season from August to October.
A baby platypus is called a “puggle” and drinks milk excreted from small openings in the mother belly (they do not have nipples). By five months old the young are weaned off the mother. The left ovary of the female functions while the right is poorly developed and does not. After the mating occurs the females will lay two to three eggs on her own in a nesting burrow. All are born with the venomous spurs, however those on the females eventually fall off. They reach sexual maturity at the age of two.
