What kind of animal is platypus?

Platypus is one of the most primitive mammals, is not fully evolved mammals, very few species, in the same genus, platypus is only one kind of animal, but also one of the lowest mammals. In the late 18th century, George Shaw received a specimen of the platypus, believing that the creature was the product of a prank and named it in 1799. The platypus has a mouth and feet like a duck, and a body and tail like a beaver. It appeared 25 million years ago and still lives in Australia. Due to the small number and small distribution of platypus, no subspecies have been found.

The platypus is covered in soft brown bushy short hair. Its skull is smaller than that of the echidna, and its brain is hemispherical and smooth. The limbs are very short, with hooked claws on the five toes and thin flippers between the toes, resembling duck feet. When walking or digging, the webbed folds in the opposite direction on the palm. The whole body is covered with soft fur, like a good waterproof coat, the mouth is extremely wide and flat, mounted on the head like a mask, shaped like a duck's beak, soft, leather-like, and covered with nerves that can, like a radar scanner, receive waves from other animals. The platypus relies on this weapon to find food and direction in the water. There are wide horny gums in the mouth, but no teeth, the tail is large and flat, accounting for 1 / 4 of the body length, which acts as a rudder when swimming in the water.

The platypus is one of the few mammals that defend itself with venom. The male platypus has a hollow thorn on the back of its knee and releases venom when it pokes the enemy with its hind legs. There are only three unique toxins in the platypus, and the rest are also found in other animals, such as starfish, sea anemones, spiders, snakes and lizards. These 83 different toxin genes can be classified into 13 different gene families. Different combinations of these toxins can cause symptoms such as inflammation, nerve damage, muscle contraction and blood clotting, which can be fatal. When you encounter a platypus in the wild, you must not take it lightly.

Platypus live in rivers and lakes, and usually like to live in caves by the water. Nests are often built on the banks of swamps or rivers, with holes opened underwater, including mountain streams, stagnant or dirty rivers, lakes and ponds. Dig a hole on the shore as a concealment, and the cave communicates with the adjoining waters. In addition to lactation, the platypus lives alone all its life, spends most of its time in the water and is a good swimmer.

Platypus like to eat small aquatic animals, such as insect eggs, shrimp and worms, and usually hunt crustaceans, earthworms and other animals by the water in the early morning and dusk. But the platypus does not have the sharp teeth of a mammal. Every time it catches food in the water, it hides it in the cheek, then floats to the surface, hitting it up and down with the jaws in its mouth. Eat so much that the amount of food consumed every day is equal to your body weight.

Platypus is of great academic significance, after hundreds of millions of years, neither extinction nor much evolution, always wandering in the "transition stage", full of mystery. This animal, which is only native to Australia in the world, was once in danger of extinction due to the pursuit of specimens and precious furs and years of overfishing. Because of its particularity and rarity, it has been listed as an international animal protection, and the Australian government has formulated protection laws and regulations.