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- Air and smell inlets
- Beak Snout
- Heavy Lids
- Cheek pouch
- Extendable flipper
- Fur
- Poison injector
- Propulsion paddle
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When the first specimens of the platypus were brought to Europe from
Australia two hundred years ago, scientists thought they were fakes. They could not believe
that the same animal could have fur, a beak like a duck, a tail like a beaver, and the
ability to lay eggs. Yet the platypus is real - it is a very rare egg-laying mammal.
Despite its strange appearance, the platypus is a superbly designed underwater hunter.
It catches crayfish and worms on the bottoms of muddy rivers where sight is nearly impossible.
It is able to search for food in darkness using its specially adapted, beak-like snout, which is filled with sensors and can detect any movement in the murky water. This mechanical
platypus shows how the body parts of the animal work for swimming, capturing food, burrowing, and laying eggs.
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More About Platypuses:
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Air and smell inlets
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Nostrils, which let the animal breathe when only the front end of
the beak is at the water's surface. |
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Beak Snout
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The beak snout of a real platypus is transformed into a multipurpose
probe and food grasper. The beak-like snout is a device for finding prey
in dark, muddy waters. Some of the sensory endings can find food by touch.
Others can pick up tiny electrical currents in the water that are given
off by the nerves and muscles of prey. The robot version has both
pressure-pad sensors and tiny electrical sensors that do the same jobs.
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Heavy Lids
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Heavy lids are a platypus' heavy eyelids. They cover their eyes
AND their ears when they're underwater. |
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Cheek pouch
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The cheek pouch is a food storage vessel.
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Extendable flipper
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The platypus' large webbed front feet have two roles. With the
flaps extended, they are powerful paddles for swimming. With the
webbing flaps turned back, the claws stick out and can be used for
digging a burrow in a riverbank. |
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Fur
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Fur insulates and waterproofs the platypus.
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Poison injector
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A poison spur, found only on the male platypus,which is used in
fights with other males. |
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Propulsion paddle
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A flattened tail with fat storage areas, for extra food. |
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Platypus Facts:
Country: Australia
Habitat: rivers and lakes in eastern Australia and Tasmania
Length: 18 in. (46 cm)
Weight: 4-5 lb. (1.8-2.3 kg)
Closest relative: spiny anteater
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 Choose another animal:
Chameleon |
Squid |
Bat |
Fly |
Grasshopper |
Rhino
Special thanks to B.J. Heinley and Brian
Buschmann.
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