#ARE PLATYPUS MARSUPIALS HOW TO#

Image: Original artist unknown bark painting c1900-1966 Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. They all agree, and from that time onward Platypus has been known as very wise and very special.Įach animal group has its own special traits, but the platypus has been classed a very special creature ever since the Dreamtime – and I’m inclined to agree. “But it’s not only me - ” he says, “each of us has something that makes us special in our own very special way”. He explains that he shares characteristics with each group, and therefore does not need to join any one group to be special. However, after much deliberation and consultation with his friend Echidna, he respectfully declines all offers. Each of the groups holds its own special meetings, and each invites shy Platypus to join their special family. It begins with the Ancestor Spirits of the birds, of the land creatures, and of the water creatures, telling of why each group is special – flight and laying eggs for the birds, fur and running fast for the land creatures, and swimming for the water creatures. There is a dreaming that tells the story of “ why Platypus is special”. The Australian aboriginal Dreamtime stories describe the events that mark the creation of the natural world and its inhabitants. This week in the wide world of venom series, we introduce the enigmatic platypus.Ī truly unique species - the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus ). Believe it or not, this creature actually exists! With its unusual combination of reptilian and mammalian traits, it’s easy to see it has evoked wonder and disbelief in many of those who have encountered it. They have body mechanisms that help them keep their temperatures constant in case the temperatures rise or fall.Try to imagine an egg-laying, lactating, nipple-less, toothless, stomach-less, venomous mammal. They do not depend on the temperature fluctuations to determine their body temperatures. Besides, platypuses possess other mammalia characteristics such as being warm-blooded. When an animal feeds their young ones with milk from their mammary glands, they are automatically classified as a mammal. How Are Platypuses Mammals If They Lay Eggs? The baby platypuses, therefore, do not suck the milk, they lap it from their mother’s body. The milk is usually extracted from the pores of their skin, and then later collected on the grooves of their stomachs. It should be noted that the mammary glands of the platypuses do not have nipples like many other mammals.

#ARE PLATYPUS MARSUPIALS HOW TO#

At this age, they come out of the burrow and get into the water, where they learn how to swim. The female platypuses take tender care of the young platypuses up to when they around four months old, when they become capable of surviving on their own. They require close supervision from their mother to survive. The hatched platypuses are usually very small. The female then curls around the eggs to ensure that a warm temperature necessary for hatching is retained.Īfter around ten days the eggs are hatched. In most cases, the females lay between one and three eggs. The eggs develop in the female body for about 28 days before they are laid in a burrow. The burrows of female platypuses are usually larger compared to the burrows of the male platypuses because that is where the female rear their young ones.

Some of its features, having a close resemblance to a duck, brings a bit of confusion. Its feet are also webbed, just like a duck. Others think of the animal as a bird species because its mouth closely resembles the beak of a duck. The legs of most mammals come from underneath their body structure. The legs of the platypuses come out from the body from the sides, just like reptiles such as crocodiles. They do not lay eggs using their underside like birds. Some people mistakenly classify them as reptiles because they lay egg using their sides, just like reptiles such as snakes and lizards. Monotreme mammals lay eggs, and later hatch them as their means of reproduction. They are classified as monotreme mammals. Interestingly, despite laying eggs, platypuses are mammals. Many people tend to classify platypuses as either reptiles or birds.

Are platypus marsupials