Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)

Platypuses are both bizarre looking and unusually adapted. They belong to a sub-group of mammals that lay eggs rather than giving birth to live young (monotremes). When the first platypus was shipped to Britain from Australia, people thought it was a joke and that someone had sewn a duck's bill to a mammal's body. Even when accepted as real, it was thought to be a bird or a reptile as it laid eggs.

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About the Platypus

The Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. It is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species have been found in the fossil record.

The bizarre appearance of this egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, with some considering it an elaborate fraud. It is one of the few venomous mammals; the male Platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans. The unique features of the Platypus make it an important subject in the study of evolutionary biology and a recognizable and iconic symbol of Australia; it has appeared as a mascot at national events and is featured on the reverse of the Australian 20 cent coin. The Platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales.

Until the early 20th century it was hunted for its fur, but it is now protected throughout its range. Although captive breeding programmes have had only limited success and the Platypus is vulnerable to the effects of pollution, it is not under any immediate threat.

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Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animal (animalia)

Phylum: Chordate (Chordata)

Class: Mammal (Mammalia)

Order: Monotremata

Family: Ornithorhynchidae

Genus: Ornithorhynchus

Species: Platypus (anatinus)

Common Names

Duck-billed platypus

Where can I see them?

They can be found in the following habitats:

Conservation Status

The Platypus is Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)

  1. EX - Extinct
  2. EW
  3. CR - Threatened
  4. EN - Threatened
  5. VU - Threatened
  6. NT
  7. LC - Least concern

Population trend: Unknown

Year assessed: 2008

What's the threat?

The platypus was hunted intensively for its fur until the early 20th century. Until about 1950 it was also subject to accidental drowning in the nets used by inland fisheries. The species has recovered well from these threats, mainly due to an effective government conservation programme.Other threats are now presenting problems for the platypus. Habitat disruption caused by dams, irrigation projects and pollution are threatening Australian freshwater systems. Accidental bycatch in inland fishing gear continues to result in some mortality. In spite of these threats, the species has so far continued to inhabit and reproduce in considerably degraded environments. The present distribution of the platypus appears to be little altered from pre-European times. There are almost certainly no naturally occurring populations in South Australia where it once occurred, and its distribution has decreased in the lower areas of the Murray and Murrumbidgee River systems in Victoria and New South Wales.  It is probable that commercial and illegal fishing operations within the distribution of platypuses in the lower Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers, are suppressing platypus numbers. A study indicated that the legal fishing nets used in the industry are less of a threat to platypuses than the use of illegal nets used by poachers.Although the platypus is considered to be common throughout its current distribution, its abundance is difficult to measure and therefore its future conservation status is not easily predicted. Several studies have reported fragmentation of platypus distribution within individual river systems. This has been attributed to poor land management practices leading to stream bank erosion, sedimentation of water bodies and the loss of vegetation at areas adjacent to water courses. There is also currently evidence for the adverse effects of river regulation, introduced species, poor water quality and disease on platypus populations, but these have been little studied.

Information about the threat is provided by the Zoological Society of London's EDGE of Existence programme

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