An egg-laying, semi-aquatic mammal with a bill resembling that of a duck, that has a mole-like body, a tail resembling that of a beaver, a waterproof pelt, and flat webbed feet — males have poisonous spurs on the inside of the back legs; Ornithorhynchus anatinus
An egg-laying, semiaquatic mammal with a bill resembling that of a duck, a mole-like body, a tail resembling that of a beaver, a waterproof pelt, and flat webbed feet - males have poisonous spurs on the inside of the back legs. The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) lives in the freshwater streams of Tasmania and eastern mainland Australia
small densely furred aquatic monotreme of Australia and Tasmania having a broad bill and tail and webbed feet; only species in the family Ornithorhynchidae
a small furry Australian animal that has a beak and feet like a duck, lays eggs, and produces milk for its young (platypous ). or duckbill Monotreme amphibious mammal (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) of lakes and streams in eastern Australia and Tasmania. About 23 in. (60 cm) long, the squat-bodied platypus has a ducklike snout, short legs, webbed feet, and a beaverlike tail. Each day it eats nearly its own weight in crustaceans, fishes, frogs, mollusks, tadpoles, and earthworms; lacking teeth, it crushes its food with ridges in the bill. The female lays one to three eggs in a nest in a long twisting passage above the waterline. The young are weaned about four months after hatching. The male's heel bears a spur connected to a poison-secreting gland. Large fishes and perhaps snakes prey on platypuses. Formerly trapped for their dense, soft fur, they are now protected by law