PLATYPUSES


  • The eyes, ears and nostrils of the platypus shut completely when the animal is under water.
  • The platypus is an Australian mammal that lays eggs. Only one of two mammals that lay eggs.
  • Although the platypus is blind and deaf in the water, its soft rubbery bill is so sensitive it has no difficulty in finding small creatures to eat.
  • The duck-billed platypus is just one of a number of very unusual animals found in only Australia and New Zealand. These land masses were cut off millions of years ago, when the continents drifted apart. The animals there evolved in isolation from those elsewhere.
  • Platypus means "flat footed"

Back to Contents Page

1