©Stefan Heinrich / Creative Commons Behavior and Lifestyle Platypuses inhabit streams, rivers, and some lakes that have suitable banks for burrowing in and are a permanent source of water. The platypus is thought to be so successful as an animal species as they are able to survive in such a niche environment in the world’s driest continent. Their home ranges vary depending on the specific river system and can vary in size from less than a kilometer to more than 7 kilometers, and overlap those ranges of other individuals despite their solitary nature. They are highly suited to their semi-aquatic environment and possess the best physical characteristics for dealing with life both in and out of the water, with their dense fur helping to keep their warm bodies insulated even in the coldest of water. They inhabit streams and rivers, and some lakes that have suitable banks for burrowing in and a permanent source of water. The platypus is an animal that is found on the east coast of Australia from Cooktown in Queensland in the north, all the way down to the island of Tasmania in the south and has also been introduced to Kangaroo Island in southern Australia. Platypuses have short limbs with partially webbed hind feet and a broad, flat tail.

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Oviparous Animals: 12 Animals That Lay Eggs (Some Will Surprise You!).The 9 Most Interesting Animals in the World.The 10 Most Venomous Animals In The World!.Learn more about the most venomous mammals on earth here. Males are larger in size than females and possess a poison spur on the ankle of each hind foot that is used to drive away rival males during the breeding season. Their bills are very touch-sensitive and are often used to probe the mud on the riverbed for the small insect larvae on which they most commonly feed on. The bill of the platypus is soft and pliable and covered in a multitude of sensory receptors that help them to detect the small electrical signals emitted from their prey species. One of the platypus’s most distinctive and unusual features is the large, broad bill that looks like the beak of a duck. Their front feet are fully webbed and help to propel the platypus through the water and can be turned back when on land, exposing their large nails to aid them when walking or burrowing into the river banks. They have short limbs with partially webbed hind feet and a broad, flat tail (which resembles the tail of a beaver) that are used as rudders when underwater. The platypus is an animal with a small, streamlined body that is covered in short and dense waterproof fur that varies in color from dark brown on its back with a light brown or silver underside and a plum-colored middle. The platypus is one of the few species of monotremes and is easily identified by its ducklike nose. There appears to be some evidence that, while platypuses now live in the freshwaters of Australia, they once lived in more locations, including South America! This was possible because of the geographical connection of Australia to South America via Antarctica millions of years ago. When the first platypus specimen arrived in Britain in 1798, it was thought to be a hoax as the platypus looks like it is a mixture of a mammal and a bird. They do, however, possess and feed their young using their mammary glands – the essential characteristic from which the class Mammalia takes its name. The platypus along with the short-nosed echidna and long-nosed echidna are the only mammals that are known to lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young, making them truly unique and leading to them not being recognized as true mammals for a long time. Known for its unique-looking appearance, the platypus belongs to a small group of mammals called monotremes, of which there are only a few species. The platypus (also commonly known as the duck-billed platypus) is a small species of semi-aquatic mammal indigenous to the eastern coast of Australia.

Platypus eggs