Paging Dr. Platypus...

Get ready for yet another AMAZING true fact about the best animal ever:

In addition to all the awesome features already mentioned, the platypus is THE WORLD'S ONLY VENOMOUS MAMMAL!

Yes, that's right, that cute little plat can defend himself too. And I use the pronoun "him" because only male platypi are poisonous. They secrete their toxin from a gland in the thigh called the crural gland, and inject it via a spur on the back of the hind foot:

Ouch! That's gotta hurt! And from all accounts, it certainly does. Platypus venom is not known to be fatal to humans, but it hurts like hell and according to rainforest-australia.com it causes "spectacular localised swelling." Platypus venom is unique among animal poisons in that it acts on pain receptor cells. In other words, this is a poison geared to huuuurt. And, according to the above website, this is a characteristic shared by the chemicals that make chili peppers burn your mouth! What's more, some scientists believe that this unique property should be studied in relation to the creation of new painkillers. Wow!

Due to the fact that venom production increases during platypus mating season, scientists believe that the spurs are for fighting with other males over females-- Think goats ramming eachother, or bucks sparring with their antlers. There are accounts of both hunting dogs and other platypi dying after being spurred, but researchers are not sure if this is due to the damage caused by the spur itself, or the poison. As for humans, platypus hunters back in the bad ol' days used to get spurred, and they probably deserved it. I also read an account of an old Aussie dude who got spurred in the hand and was still having aches and stiffness there 3 months later!

If you are curious to learn more about the venomous platypus boyz, check out these interesting websites: http://rainforest-australia.com/platypus_poison.htm (also gives tips on how to handle plats to avoid being spurred)
http://www.bio.davidson.edu (this is where you can read about the old dude)

Well, the point being, don't mess with that platypus!!! Not only adorable, but boy do they know how to defend themselves!

Monotreme Madness for the Kiddies.

As your source for all things Ornithorynchus-y, I would be remiss to leave out all the platypus reading fun available for "crumb crunchers". I used to work at a library with an awesome kid's section, where I was introduced to these great titles (click on the links to check them out on Amazon.com):

A Platypus, Probably, by Collard B. Sneed

Because, seriously, what could be better than an epic poem about the platypus? Also, "a platypus, probably." is a great multi-purpose response to basically any statement or question. Example: Room mate: "Who drank my beer??" You: "A platypus, probably."

Platypus and the Lucky Day, and Platypus and the Birthday Party
both by Chris Riddell

I have read both of these books out loud to a 3 year old, and she loved them. Ok let's face it, I loved them too. In Birthday Party, Platypus celebrates the birthday of his friend (yes!) Echidna. Genius!! Also note that I happen to own the lovely plush platypus toy that Amazon recommends purchasing with the Lucky Day book.

A Purloined Purple Plush Platypus Purchased Provides Plentifully Pleasurable Playing.

Wednesday is Platypus Day!

Why? Because every day is platypus day.

In my last entry I mentioned the incredibly long burrow of the platypus. I remembered that in Ann Moyal's book there was a neat sketch of one by early explorer/ scientist George Bennett, a platypus pioneer of sorts. So here it is for your enjoyment:This image can be found on p85 of Moyal's Platypus: The Extraordinary Story of How a Curious Creature Baffled the World (2001).

Moyal does not indicate when the sketch was done, but I would estimate sometime in the mid 1830's based on the other info on Bennett's trips to Australia. You can see here that the platypus burrow is sort of like that of a beaver, with the entrance underwater. Bennett has handily included a platypus swimming toward the entrance (it looks like a little lump in the water there). Then there is a little kind of entry room-- where the platypus would dry off and take it's boots off? Ha, no just kidding. By squeezing through the rest of the tunnel, though, the animal would get mostly dry by the time it reaches the end. The tunnel here looks pretty slim, but in reality it would be about the width of the little platy itself. At the end of this long tunnel is the nest area, where mom platy will lay her little eggs and hatch her babies. As I mentioned before, these tunnels are looooong-- Bennett apparently measured one at 16 M. That's approximately 58 feet for us Americans. The platypus itself is not very big, remember, like less than 2 feet long, so that is a nice roomy home!

Platypus of the Day!

Image from the Healesville Platypus Institute

Meet Koorina, the "mum" of the darling twins pictured in my last entry. She is shown here attempting a daring escape from an Australian scientist at her home, the Healesville Institute. She came to the Institute when she was only 4 months old to be a part of their breeding program, started in 1989. The twins were born in 1999. This picture was taken in 2004, and Koorina seems to be happy and healthy. Hopefully she remains as rambunctious today!

Have fun celebrating your "Platypus Wednesday"!

And give a loud round of applause for that amazing tunnel digger, Ornithorynchus anatinus!!

Why I love the platypus, part 3.

Platypus Babies.

The grown-up platy is pretty damn cute, but in my opinion there is just nothing cuter than a baby platypus. Behold:

Pocket sized platy!! Boy, is this guy ADORABLE.

Also note that he's super fat! That's from nursing on his mom, of course. When platypi were first being investigated, one of the most puzzling things about them was how an animal with a beak could suckle like other mammals. Well, as you can see above, the baby's little snout is much stubbier than the adult's. This lets it chow down on milk.

Another thing that was a huge controversy was whether or not platypi could be considered mammals, because they do not have the standard milk-bearing equipment (ie nipples). Instead, when stimulated by baby, milk just kind of drips out of glands on the mom's tummy. It seems a little less efficient-- doesn't that waste milk? But it seems to work well for the platypus.

Now, as for eggs.

Images from The Complete Platypus (www.platypus.org.uk)

This is a platypus egg! As you can see, it's teeny tiny! So the palm-sized platypus above is actually well on its way to growing up. I have not been able to find any good pictures of just hatched babies, but I am investigating, so hopefully I'll have some soon. This is the youngest platypus I've come across:


The lack of photo evidence may be because the females lay their eggs deep within their burrows, which can be HUGE, up to 15 meters long! Platypi almost always lay two eggs. Why this is is not really known, but I'm guessing they are like other animals with a two baby norm, like sheep. One of my favorite platypus pictures is of two baby platys born at the Healesville Sanctuary.

So fat and cute!!

In the course of finding my pictures for this entry, I came across another kinda neat platypus website, Platypus Pool. It's actually an anti-war website, but they have some interesting info and platy-pics. I like that platypi are their mascot, and they seem cool. They say that the platypus "is noted for its odd combination of primitive features and special adaptations," which is a good way of putting it, I think. I noticed that some of their other info is a little off though, so don't use it as your primary platypus source...

Happy October!

--Platygirl

Snugglypus!

I dare you to find something cuter than this, anywhere:

Yup, looks like platys like to spoon! How ADORABLE is that?!

Also, related to yesterday's topic (the platypus bill and its amazing powers), I thought this picture was cool too:You can see how he's kind of feeling along the bottom with his bill. Apparently underwater pictures of the platypus are very rare, and most I've seen aren't as good as this one.

I got both of these images from a really neato website called The Complete Platypus. As I mentioned previously, there aren't too many platypus websites out there, let alone platypus fan sites! This one is really quite a gem. And as a source of great platy pictures, it can't be beat!

Well, hope you all enjoy your weekends...

xo Platygirl

Why I love the platypus, part 2.

IT HAS A SIXTH SENSE!!

Image source: nationalgeographic.com

It can see dead platypi...

Ha, no just kidding. Actually, what I mean is, the platypus finds its food underwater by sensing minute electrical charges created when its prey (wormies and such) moves around. When a platypus is under water, its eyes and nose are sealed tight shut, and yet it still can find things and navigate successfully! How does it do this?

WITH ITS BILL!

That's right, that adorable little beak also has a really cool purpose in being on the platy's schnoz. It is in fact an extremely perceptive sensory organ. When platypuses are alive, the bill is very soft and flexible, not at all like the bill of a duck, which it obviously resembles. That weird looking part at the top of the bill, near the face, is meant to protect platy's eyes while it's digging around in the mud.

So, how was this fantastic electric capacity discovered? Well, according to Platypus Guru Ann Moyal, the platypuses secret was found out by a German dude named Henning Scheich (Moyal, pp 188-191). Scheich put a platy into a tank with charged and uncharged batteries. Sure enough, our hero was able to find his way right over to the electrified ones, but couldn't tell where the others were! Click here to see a video of a platy swimming about, just like that.

Ok, so, that's pretty cool. But, even more interestingly, the way the platypus uses electricity is different from the way other animals do it. Example: the sleek and fancy bottlenosed dolphin below:

Basically (very basically, if you want a more scientific or in-depth explanation, go ahead and read Moyal!) the platypus' system is unique because in most animals, the electro-receptors trigger some chemical that tells neurons in the brain "hey, there's something over there. Go check it out." In the platy, the electrical current "excites the nerve fiber directly," (Moyal, 191) without any middle man, as it were.

And that, let's face it is just damn COOL.

Hip, hip, hooray for plugged-in platypi!!!


xo Platygirl

PlatyRap!

Artist: The Platy Boyz
Album: Monotreme Wars (2007)

In this new album, veteran Aussie rappers the Platy Boyz (AKA DJ Duckbill and MC Spiny) don't fail to deliver, living up to the standards set by 1998's Hello Platy, 1999's Illin' With a Bill, and 1994's record-breaking Some Old Platypussary. In songs like "Fishin' for Wormz," the Boyz manage to capture, with their witty, always humorous style, the strange pathos, yet inarguable "illness" of the Ornithorynchus anatinus species. Well done, Boyz, yet again!!

*****
-- Rolling Stone

Plat Nasty Git Down!
Monotreme Wars, track 3

Now, all around the world nothing like it can be found
One beak, four legs, knows how to get down!

Platypus, platypus, that's our proclivity
bring him back home and breed him in captivity

Not a bird, not a bat, not a two-humped camel
Duck-billed platypus: egg laying mammal
Pint-sized platypus, evolution credible
Electro-sensing platypus, finds bugs that are edible

Species: anatinus
Genus: Ornithorynchus
Order: Monotremata
Class: Mammalia
Phylum: Choradata
Kingdom: Animalia. Duck-billed platypus, found in Australia!

Now that platypus is a sassy little beast
Give him some worms and he'll have himself a feast

Not a fish, not a whale, not an African Giant Snail
Duck-billed platypus, hot on yer tail!

Platypus, platypus looks kinda funny
Not slimy like a newt or bouncy like a bunny
You say he's not an animal, yo, what ya bin smokin'?
He's a duck-billed platypus, we ain't jokin'.

Species: anatinus
Genus: Ornithorynchus
Order: Monotremata
Class: Mammalia
Phylum: Choradata
Kingdom: Animalia. Duck-billed platypus, found in Australia!

Yo! Platygirl here. For more fun facts about all sorts of platypussary, check out the Wikipedia entry on "platypus". As always, very informative. You could also look up the Beastie Boys on Wiki, like Platygirl just did, and read all about their discography, then make up funny sounding album titles based on it.

Enjoy! And stay tuned for "Why I Love the Platypus: Reason #2," coming soon.

xo, Platygirl