This means that fat is stored in the tail. The platypus has no stomach, it's esophagus connecting directly to it's intestine. A platypus may uncommonly hunt for up to 30 hours at a time, often diving up to 1,600 times in a single sitting. ![]() While hunting, the platypus will also use it's bill like a sifter or shovel, scooping up the sediment in order to unearth small prey items, while larger prey items like yabbies, are caught separately. Precisely how electroreception in platypuses works is unknown however, it is though the that three main receptor cells exist in the bill, in addition to thousands of smaller ones, culminating in a sensory super-organ that allows the platypus to detect drastic and subtle movements in the riverbed, by sensing electrical fields produced by other organisms. As platypuses close their ears, eyes and nostrils while underwater, electroreception allows the platypus to hunt effectively without their most essential senses. Platypuses hunt using a method known as electroreception. The species has also been known to catch moths and cicadas from the water's surface. They have also been known to hunt larger species, such as juvenile fish, fish eggs and tadpoles. Snail and worm species are also a common prey item of the platypus. Platypuses commonly hunt invertebrates, such as aquatic insects like swimming beetles and water bugs as well as freshwater 'pea-shell' mussels (Pisidium ssp.). It is known to consume various freshwater crustacean species, such as the common yabby (Cherax destructor), crayfishes and freshwater shrimp species. The platypus is a carnivorous species, hunting mostly at night, foraging for 8-16 hours daily. For example, platypuses in Tasmania are much larger and darker than their mainland counterparts. The platypus is sexually dimorphic with males reaching up to 50cm (19.6in) and weighing 0.7-2.4kg (1-5lbs) while females reach 43cm (17in) and weigh 0.7-1.6kg (1-3.5lbs). By the Aboriginal peoples of Australia, the platypus is known from a variety of names, including boondaburra, tambreet and mallingong. Many early British settlers would also use the terms " watermole" and " duckmole" to identify the animal. Shaw originally wanted to name the species (Platypus anatinus) however, the genus name (Platypus) had already been in use by a group of beetle species. After the individual was sent back to Great Britain (now the United Kingdom), it was found to be an actual animal, as it's body showed no evidence of the taxidermy process. He thought it was the body of an undiscovered Australian beaver-like animal, stitched to the head of a duck. George Shaw (1751-1831), the first European scientist to describe the platypus in 1799, first believed that the specimen was a hoax. This word is comprised from two words " platús" (πλατύς) and " poús" (πούς), meaning wide/broad and foot respectively. The name ' platypus' is an English name that is derived from the Greek " platúpous" (πλατύπους). Spurs are most frequently used to compete with other males during breeding season (discussed in Behaviour). On males, the hind legs have venomous barbs on their ankles, known as spurs. The front pair act as a way of paddling through the water, while the hind pair turn the platypus while underwater. The platypus also has large, flat, clawed, webbed-feet with five digits. It is soft and leathery in texture and it is greyish-blue in colour. Platypuses have duck-like bills however, this is not a way of impersonating or mimicking duck species and it is rather an evolutionary coincidence, as the larger surface area of the bill allows for greater electroreception when hunting. ![]() The tail of the platypus is often represented as being orange in colour and hairless in media however, in reality, the tail is covered in coarse dark brown hairs, that darken towards the tail's end. The ears and eyes are close to one another and a channel of dark naked skin connects the two, forming an eyebrow-like appearance. The eyes are brown and lined with the same colouration on the underbelly. This is known as counter-shading and allows the platypus to remain undetected by aquatic predators from underneath and predators above. The platypus has a narrow body that is covered with dark brown fur and silverish underfur, that transitions to a lighter cream or white colour on the underbelly. The duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) also simply known as the platypus, is one of two remaining Monotreme species native to Australia.
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