Duck with fur and beaver's tail...blog#10

It's possible to run out of adjectives when it comes to describing the platypus. This unique creature, endemic to Australia, has confounded scientists since its discovery. We still don't know a great deal about the semi-aquatic animal, or the secrets that it holds.

Here are a few things and discoveries about the platypus that we do know, however. Some make sense and others, frankly, just lead to more questions.

• Platypuses are egg-laying mammals

The platypus isn't the only venomous mammal, and it isn't the only egg-laying mammal (the four species of echidna also lay eggs). Not much is known about the life cycle of a platypus. Males play no part in rearing the offspring following mating. The female gestates the eggs between two to four weeks and then another week of incubation in which the female circles around them bill to tail. Once they hatch, the young suck milk from special mammary hairs for a few months before they become independent.

• Platypuses are venomous mammals

Very few mammals are venomous. A male platypus delivers venom through ankle spurs (females aren't venomous). The venom is composed of defensin-like proteins, or DLPs, three of which are only found in the platypus, which ups the animal's oddness factor. The venom can severely hurt, but not kill, humans but it can be lethal to smaller animals. Scientists think that the venom, which increases in production during mating periods, is intended to incapacitate rival males.

• Platypuses 'see' with their bills underwater

When they dive underwater, platypuses are basically sightless and are unable to smell anything. Folds of skin cover their eyes and their nostrils seal up to become watertight. Their bills, however, have electroreceptors and mechanoreceptors that allow them to detect electrical fields and movement, respectively. But since their mechanoreceptors will be attuned to any movement, electroreceptors are necessary to detect living organisms for eating after they dig through the sea bed.

Sources:     Google Images                      
www.mnn.com/earth-matters
http://mentalfloss.com