The platypus is probably the world's weirdest mammal. Why? Hmmmm... let's see!
1. Crazy Hybrid
It looks like a crazy scientist mixed together a duck, an otter and a beaver
2. ElectroreceptionIt is only one out of the three known mammals that can sense the electrical fields produced by other organisms. The other two are the closely related echidna and the Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis
3. Egg-laying
It's a mammal. It lays eggs. Enough said.
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| Platypus Egg |
4. Venom !
One of the handful of mammals to produce egg. According to wikipedia:
It is one of the few venomous mammals, the male platypus having a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans.
5. Walks funny
Just check this video
6. It has no breasts!
Like all mammals, the female platypus feeds milk to its young. However, the mother doesn’t actually have tits at all! Females produce milk, but their mammary glands don’t protrude with nipples as we would expect. Instead, the areolae act as “milk patches,” which secrete milk much like human skin secretes sweat. The babies drink the milk straight from the mother’s skin!
7. No one knows the plural form of "platypus"
Some say it's platypuses. Some say it's “platypi”. Others say the name platypus is actually of Greek origin, and thus it should be “platypodes.”. Who knows...Who cares :D
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