Scientific name:
Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Natural spread:
Australia

the platypus occurs Viktoria and the extremely southeast South-Australia completely mainly in the eastern Australia, from Cooktown in the north over the eastern Queensland and new-South-Wales, until Tasmania. In its spread-area, the animals live in clear seas and rivers.

The ah-killing mammal is to be recognized easily through a big, wide and flat beak. The tail is very short, thick and, as the whole body, hairy. The paws are strongly trained and have five claws and swimming-skins. The animals gain a length of up to 60 cm. With danger, they immediately dive up to five minutes. they live in holes, that dig it at the riverside and can be several meters long.

Platypuses live amphibious, are night-active and live from worms, insect-larvae and freshwater-crabs. its beak, that is equipped for electric attractions with receptors, helps them with the food-search. They can track down the elektrisschen fields of the muscle-activity of its loot with it. Eyes, ears and nose-holes are closed under water. At country, the swimming-skins of the front-feet are withdrawn. The deposit of the eggs takes place in the Australian spring. In its holes, they arrange special with plant-material of upholstered brood-constructions. Usually, they put 2 pea-big eggs, that they hatch with its body-heat. After approximately 10 days, the boys slip, who live from the milk of the dams.

The male animals have a hollow, movable spur in the height of the ankle on the insides. This spur stands with a poison-gland in the skin-musculature of the thigh in connection. This weapon is put in to the defense or at the fight against other males.