Why does a platypus have a duck bill

Biodiversity Duck-billed Platypus. Duck-billed Platypus Ornithorhychus anatinus. Choose one of the following categories to see related pages: Australian Animals. Share this Page. You can follow Rob Nelson Facebook. Common Name: Duck-billed Platypus. Classification Kingdom:. Species Range. Science Newsletter:. Full List of our Videos. Teaching Biology? How to Make Science Films. Read our Wildlife Guide. On the Trail of the Egret. Tips for Shooting Smoke Grenade Photos.

Pacific Sleeper Shark: Giant of the Deep. The Burmese Python - A docile ish giant. Australia's Most Dangerous Creatures. White-nosed Syndrome in Bats. Gluten and You. Arctic Tundra Biome. The Science of Breadmaking. It has no teeth, so the platypus stores its "catch" in its cheek pouches, returns to the surface, mashes up its meal with the help of gravel bits hoovered up enroute, then swallows it all down.

Baby platypuses hatch after 10 days and nurse for up to four months before they swim off and forage on their own. The Commonwealth of Australia reveres this remarkable mammal so much that it honors the platypus with a place on its cent coin.

There is only one other egg-laying mammal in the world. Funny Fill-In. Amazing Animals. Weird But True! Party Animals. Try This! Explore More. Though they exist on only one side of one continent, platypuses weather many climate extremes. They have been found in plateaus, lowlands, tropical rainforests, and the cold mountains of Tasmania and the Australian Alps. Their waterproof, thick fur keeps platypuses warm in chilly temperatures, and their big tails store extra fat for energy.

Platypuses usually spend their time hunting for food, and a hunt can last 10 to 12 hours. They are most active during nighttime and dusk, because they are nocturnal. This means they sleep during the day.

When not hunting, they stay in their burrows. Platypuses are carnivorous, which means they eat meat but not plants. They hunt for their food in the water where they live. As they swim, they try to detect food along the muddy bottom of the river, stream, pond or lake using their sensitive bills. When platypuses find something interesting, like shellfish, insects, larvae or worms, they scoop it up in their bills, store it in their cheek pouches and swim to the surface.

Since they only have grinding plates and no teeth, platypuses use any gravel or dirt they scooped up while on the bottom of the waterbed to mash their food into digestible pieces. Most mammals give birth to live young. Platypuses, however, lay eggs.