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.
Watch video clips from past programmes (2 clips)
In order to watch this content you need to have an up-to-date version of Flash installed and Javascript turned on.
Down a platypus burrow
The Life of Mammals
Miniature cameras illuminate life below ground.
David Attenborough filmed these strange creatures nearly 30 years earlier for Life on Earth. In the interim, miniature camera technology evolved to the point where small probes could be inserted into inaccessible places, without disturbing the burrow or its occupants. Viewers can now see for themselves what Sir David had previously only been able to describe.
Weird mammals
Life on Earth
Egg-laying mammals? The platypus defies expectations.
A similar sequence about platypuses, in terms of natural history, was filmed 23 years after this for The Life of Mammals. Together, the two sequences show how radically wildlife film-making has changed and what technological advances can bring to the arena. It's also one of many instances that has allowed Sir David a rare opportunity to engage with one of nature's most elusive and fascinating animals.
Featured in the following TV programmes
-
Archived
The Life of Mammals: A Winning Design
David Attenborough visits Australia and South America to study the lives of marsupials.
-
Archived
Life on Earth: Episode 9:THE RISE OF THE MAMMALS
The mammals have proved to be one of the most adaptable products of evolution. Their ancestry can be traced back nearly 200 million years to the beginning of the dinosaur era.
Featured in the following Radio programmes
-
Archived
David Attenborough's Life Stories: Platypus
Along the river banks of New South Wales, the female duck-billed platypus makes a burrow.
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 recognisable 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.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.
Featured in...
-
David Attenborough's favourite moments
David Attenborough's favourite moments from the last 30 years represent not only memorable personal experiences, but also the diversity of life on our planet and the rapidly changing technological face of broadcasting.
Scientific Classification
Order: Monotremata
Family: Ornithorhynchidae
Genus: Ornithorhynchus
Species: Platypus (anatinus)
Common Names
Duck-billed platypus
The Platypus is
- Adapted to swimming
- Carnivorous
- Egg layer
- Fossorial
- Helpless at birth
- Nocturnal
- Polygynous
- Territorial
- Venomous
Adaptation data provided by Animal Diversity Web
Where can I see them?
They can be found in the following habitats:
Conservation Status
The Platypus is Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- 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
Elsewhere on the web
- Animal Diversity Web (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- ARKive: Images of Life on Earth (arkive.org)
- Genome analysis of the duck-billed platypus (nature.com)
- Platypus a hoax? (timesonline.co.uk)
- Platypus (wikipedia.org)
- Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) (edgeofexistence.org)
Site links
BBC links
© MMX
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.