Duck billed Platypus

Zoogdierenpagina klik hier >>>

Ornithorhynchus anatinus 

     Eager to have the best of both worlds, the duckbilled platypus of Australia has climbed out of a primeval freshwater life to join other creatures by the water’s edge. However, unable to adjust to all the difficulties of life on land, it returns to streams and ponds to eat crayfish, snails, and shrimp. 
     The egg-laying platypus and its cousin, the anteater, along with marsupials, make up the most primitive group of living mammals. The adult male is about 65 cm long including its 12 to 15 cm tail. Its most distinctive characteristic is its bill, shaped like that of a duck and from which it gets its name. Its head, trunk, and tail are completely covered with brown fur.   
     The females have no teats and the young feed through numerous tiny openings in the skin of the mother’s belly. Platypus have five-toed feet that are webbed, and the male has a spur on its heel, directed backwards and inwards, which connects with a poison-secreting gland.
 

				uw eigen startpagina
© copyright Wisetogo 2006 Privacy Statement