Platypus skeleton for sale12/21/2023 ![]() ‘One of the reasons I think the modern form is persisting as well as it is in Australian waterways, is that the platypus is a generalist,’ Dr Serena says. ‘The modern platypus is believed to be at least four million years old, but its ancestors go back in time to the dinosaurs,’ Dr Serena explains.įor context, evidence for the origin of Homo sapiens-or us modern humans-only goes back about 300,000 years. ‘I think they're more resilient than people give them credit for.’ Ancient origins ‘You do get them close to the city and they can live in what seems to be really unsuitable habitats-small little streams flowing between peoples’ houses. He is a stream ecologist who has studied platypus’ diet, food supply and habitat.ĭr Marchant says platypus can be quite surprising in their choice of habitat. ![]() ‘They're mostly eating smaller freshwater invertebrates, largely freshwater insects… dragon flies, caddisflies, and mayflies, those sorts of things,’ says Dr Richard Marchant, senior curator of entomology at Museums Victoria. The platypus is a carnivore, and almost exclusively eats what we humans think of as bugs. Only the male platypus produces venom and, while isn’t fatal to humans, it is very painful-so best to avoid picking up a platypus unless you know what you’re doing.ĭr Melody Serena has decades of experience handling platypus. ‘It is also a venomous mammal, which is very unusual, and it delivers venom through spurs on its hind legs,’ says Dr Serena. The platypus has no teeth after leaving its natal burrow, lacks a functional stomach, lactates without nipples, and glows under ultraviolet light. ‘The platypus has a number of features that set it apart from any other species in the world.’įor starters, it is the only aquatic member of the monotremes-a selective group of five species distinguished from other mammals by laying eggs, (the other four members are all echidnas). ‘This incredible bill is used to navigate and find food underwater when the platypus has both its eyes and ears closed, so it's a really unique adaptation,’ says Dr Melody Serena, senior conservation biologist with the Australian Platypus Conservancy, who has studied the platypus for more than 30 years. An early scientific drawing of the platypus, from John Gould's Mammals of Australia, 1863.Įven now its appearance is partly why it is so endearing to people across the world-a duck-like bill attached to the body of something more akin to a beaver. ![]()
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