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Ornithorhynchus anatinusduck-billed platypus

By Evelyn Ojo

Ge­o­graphic Range

The ge­o­graphic range of Or­nithorhynchus anat­i­nus is re­stricted to the wet­ter re­gions of east­ern Aus­tralia and Tas­ma­nia. (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

Habi­tat

Duck-billed platy­puses in­habit rivers, la­goons, and streams (Pa­sitsch­niak-Art­sand Marinelli, 1998). They pre­fer areas with steep banks that con­tain roots, over­hang­ing veg­e­ta­tion, reeds, and logs (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998). The rivers and streams are usu­ally less than 5 me­ters in depth (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998). There have been records of them liv­ing in aquatic habi­tats at el­e­va­tions above 1000 me­ters (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998). (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

  • Aquatic Biomes
  • lakes and ponds
  • rivers and streams
  • Range elevation
    1000 (high) m
    3280.84 (high) ft
  • Range depth
    5 (high) m
    16.40 (high) ft

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Duck-billed platy­puses are one of three species of monotremes. These species are unique among mam­mals in that they re­tain the an­ces­tral char­ac­ter­is­tic of egg lay­ing. They have a cloaca through which eggs are laid and both liq­uid and solid waste is elim­i­nated. Duck-billed platy­puses are stream-lined and elon­gated, they have fur rang­ing from medium brown to dark brown on the dor­sal side and brown to sil­ver-gray on the ven­tral side. They have bills that closely re­sem­ble those of ducks, and flat and broad tails re­sem­bling those of beavers (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998). Two nos­trils are lo­cated on top of their bills and their eyes and ears are on ei­ther side of their heads. They have short limbs, naked soles, webbed forefeet and par­tially-webbed hind feet. Each foot con­tains five dig­its each con­sist­ing of a broad nail for the forefeet and sharp claws for the hind feet. Males are gen­er­ally larger than fe­males, and have two venom glands at­tached to spurs on their hind legs. Fe­males have mam­mary glands but no nip­ples. The young have milk teeth while the adults have grind­ing plates. The young are smaller than adults in size. There is a sig­nif­i­cant re­duc­tion in body fat after win­ter for both young and adults (Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998). (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

  • Range mass
    0.8 to 2.5 kg
    1.76 to 5.51 lb
  • Average mass
    1.52 kg
    3.35 lb
  • Range length
    390 to 600 mm
    15.35 to 23.62 in
  • Average length
    465 mm
    18.31 in
  • Average basal metabolic rate
    468 cm3.O2/g/hr
  • Average basal metabolic rate
    1.931 W
    AnAge

Re­pro­duc­tion

Male duck-billed platy­puses ini­ti­ate most mat­ing in­ter­ac­tions but suc­cess­ful mat­ing re­lies en­tirely on the will­ing­ness of fe­males. Mat­ing is sea­sonal and varies with pop­u­la­tion. Male and fe­male platy­puses touch as they swim past each other. The male grabs the tail of the fe­male with his bill and if the fe­male is un­will­ing, she will try to es­cape by swim­ming through logs and other ob­sta­cles until she is set free. How­ever, if she is will­ing, she will stay near the male and will allow him to grab her tail again if he dropped it. The male then curls his body around the fe­male, his tail un­der­neath her to one side of her tail. Then he moves for­ward and bites the hair on her shoul­der with his bill. Other de­tails of the mat­ing pat­terns of platy­puses are mainly un­known due to their se­cre­tive, aquatic na­ture. There is a higher pro­por­tion of spur wounds in males than fe­males, which may be ex­plained by ag­gres­sive en­coun­ters be­tween males dur­ing mat­ing sea­son. (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

Duck-billed platy­puses are one of the three mam­mal species that lay eggs. There is lit­tle avail­able in­for­ma­tion on breed­ing, es­ti­mated ges­ta­tion pe­ri­ods are 27 days and in­cu­ba­tion pe­ri­ods are 10 days. Lac­ta­tion lasts three to four months. Most ju­ve­nile fe­males do not begin to breed until they are four years old (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998). (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

  • Breeding interval
    Duck-billed platypuses probably breed once each year.
  • Breeding season
    Duck-billed platypuses breed in late winter or autumn.
  • Range number of offspring
    1 to 3
  • Average number of offspring
    2
    AnAge
  • Average gestation period
    17 days
    AnAge
  • Range weaning age
    3 to 4 months
  • Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    2 (low) years
  • Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    1.5 (low) years

Fe­male duck-billed platy­puses build bur­rows in which to pro­tect and nurse their young. Dur­ing the in­cu­ba­tion pe­riod, the fe­male platy­pus will in­cu­bate eggs by press­ing the egg to her belly with her tail. The in­cu­ba­tion pe­riod usu­ally lasts for 6 to 10 days. Duck-billed platy­puses gen­er­ally lay two to three eggs. ("Duck-billed Platy­pus", 2008; Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

  • Parental Investment
  • altricial
  • pre-fertilization
    • provisioning
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • provisioning
      • female
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-weaning/fledging
    • provisioning
      • female
    • protecting
      • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

There is lit­tle in­for­ma­tion on the longevity of duck-billed platy­puses. They can live up to 12 years in the wild.

Be­hav­ior

Duck-billed platy­puses are soli­tary, es­pe­cially males. If the ter­ri­to­ries of males over­lap, they change their for­ag­ing time to avoid each other. (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

Home Range

Home range size varies de­pend­ing on the area, rang­ing from 0.37-7.0 km. Duck-billed platy­puses that for­age in streams typ­i­cally have larger home ranges than those that for­age in ponds (Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998). (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Duck-billed platy­puses make some sounds, but their role in com­mu­ni­ca­tion hasn't been de­fined yet (Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998). (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

Food Habits

Duck-billed platy­puses eat pri­mar­ily aquatic in­ver­te­brates in streams and lakes (Grant and Temp­ple-Smith, 1998). They also eat shrimp, fish eggs, and small fish (Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998). (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

  • Animal Foods
  • fish
  • eggs
  • mollusks
  • aquatic or marine worms
  • aquatic crustaceans

Pre­da­tion

Preda­tors of duck-billed platy­puses in­clude foxes, hu­mans, and dogs (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998). Oth­ers are snakes, birds of prey, feral cats, and large eels (Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998).

Ecosys­tem Roles

There is lit­tle in­for­ma­tion about how duck-billed platy­puses af­fect their ecosys­tem. How­ever, es­pe­cially by for­ag­ing on aquatic in­ver­te­brates, they play an in­te­gral role in the food webs of the streams, rivers, and bill­abongs in which they are found. (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

Com­men­sal/Par­a­sitic Species

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Duck-billed platy­pus skins were har­vested by fur traders to make hats, slip­pers, and rugs. Har­vest­ing was ended by a law passed in 1912 that pro­tected platy­puses from being hunted (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998). (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

  • Positive Impacts
  • body parts are source of valuable material

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Duck-billed platy­puses eat trout (Salmonidae), which are con­sid­ered a food source for hu­mans. How­ever, trout streams are not pri­vately-owned in Aus­tralia so the ef­fect of platy­pus pre­da­tion on trouts is nei­ther widely no­ticed nor reg­u­lated. They can harm hu­mans with their ven­omous spurs if pro­voked (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998). (Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998; Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

  • Negative Impacts
  • injures humans

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Duck-billed platy­puses are cur­rently pro­tected by the Aus­tralian gov­ern­ment (Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998). Pop­u­la­tions are con­sid­ered healthy and they are not listed as a species of con­cern on global con­ser­va­tion lists. (Grant and Tem­ple-Smith, 1998; Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts and Marinelli, 1998)

Con­trib­u­tors

Tanya Dewey (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Eve­lyn Ojo (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Mary­land, Bal­ti­more County, Kevin Om­land (ed­i­tor, in­struc­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Mary­land, Bal­ti­more County.

Glossary

Australian

Living in Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, New Guinea and associated islands.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

diurnal
  1. active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

fertilization

union of egg and spermatozoan

fossorial

Referring to a burrowing life-style or behavior, specialized for digging or burrowing.

freshwater

mainly lives in water that is not salty.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

molluscivore

eats mollusks, members of Phylum Mollusca

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

mountains

This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.

natatorial

specialized for swimming

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

nocturnal

active during the night

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

polygynous

having more than one female as a mate at one time

riparian

Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sedentary

remains in the same area

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

sexual ornamentation

one of the sexes (usually males) has special physical structures used in courting the other sex or fighting the same sex. For example: antlers, elongated tails, special spurs.

solitary

lives alone

stores or caches food

places a food item in a special place to be eaten later. Also called "hoarding"

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

territorial

defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement

tropical

the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.

venomous

an animal which has an organ capable of injecting a poisonous substance into a wound (for example, scorpions, jellyfish, and rattlesnakes).

vibrations

movements of a hard surface that are produced by animals as signals to others

visual

uses sight to communicate

Ref­er­ences

2008. "Duck-billed Platy­pus" (On-line). the An­i­mal Files. Ac­cessed May 07, 2008 at http://​www.​theanimalfiles.​com/​mammals/​egg_​laying_​mammals/​duck_​billed_​platypus.​html.

Grant, T., P. Tem­ple-Smith. 1998. Field bi­ol­ogy of the platy­pus (Or­nithorhynchus anat­i­nus): his­tor­i­cal and cur­rent per­spec­tives. The Royal So­ci­ety, 353: 1081-1091.

Pa­sitsch­niak-Arts, M., L. Marinelli. 1998. Or­nithorhynchus anat­i­nus. Mam­malian Species, 585: 1-9. Ac­cessed April 22, 2008 at http://​www.​science.​smith.​edu/​departments/​Biology/​VHAYSSEN/​msi/​pdf/​i0076-3519-585-01-0001.​pdf.

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Classification

Classification

  • Kingdom Animalia animals
  • Phylum Chordata chordates
  • Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
  • Class Mammalia mammals
  • Order Monotremata monotremes
  • Family Ornithorhynchidae platypus
  • Genus Ornithorhynchus duck-billed platypus
  • Species Ornithorhynchus anatinus duck-billed platypus