The duck-billed platypus,
Ornithorhynchus anatinus,
found
only in eastern Australia, lives in streams, rivers,
and occasionally lakes with year-round water. It feeds mostly on bottom-dwelling aquatic insect larvae, which it
finds by probing the streamed with its pliable,
sensitive bill.
It grows to a maximum size of 1 to 2.4 kg (2.2 to 5.3
lb). One of only a few venomous mammals,the male platypus has a poison
gland in the hind leg that opens through a bony spur on the ankle. The
spur is used to defend against predators and possibly to defend its
territory against other males. The females lack the
venom gland and bony
spur.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment