by Matthew Zimmer

Created on: April 16, 2008

The platypus is one of God's more hilarious practical jokes: it is an otter with the head of a duck and the tail of a beaver. Living in eastern Australia, when European ecologists first found them, they thought they were having a joke played on them by the natives. When sketches were sent back to Britain of the platypus, scientists considered the platypus a hoax. When specimens were sent back, the platypus was examined for stitches around the mouth, as it was believed the beak had just been sown onto a beaver like creature. This is indeed one of the more bizarre members of the animal kingdom, but behind the bill lies a truly fascinating creature.

The duck-billed platypus is one of the few mammals, along with the echidna, that lays eggs. The official definition for mammals involves the presence of sweat and milk glands, hair, certain ear bones and a part of the brain, and as the platypus follows all of these criteria, the egg-laying does not disqualify it from the mammalian family.

Also unusual for mammals, the platypus is venomous. Its sting doesn't have the ability to kill a human, but it can deal a large dose of pain. The spurs it uses to inject this venom are found on its hind feet. The pain the venom can produce is so severe that it can incapacitate a human victim, and infected wounds can remain painful for several months. As produced venom reaches its peek during the mating season and only males can use it, it is theorized that the venom is used for asserting dominance rather than catching food;

Female platypuses have two ovaries, but bizarrely, only the left is functional. On average, females lay about two eggs. Once they have laid their eggs, the female curls around the eggs to incubate them. Interestingly, milk is not produced from teats; instead it is excreted from glands and collects in pools over the platypus's body, allowing the young to lap up the milk. After four months, platypuses are able to leave the burrow in which they are raised.

Also unique within the mammalian world to the platypus is the ability to hunt using electricity. Like sharks, platypuses can pick up electrical signals given off by the movement of muscles, and they use this to hunt and capture their prey, which include shrimp, larvae and worms. Platypus dives can last up to 40 seconds.

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