The Platypus \ stacker news ~Animal

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230 sats \ 12 comments \ @siggy47 6 Mar Animal_World

https://www.livescience.com/27572-platypus.html

When I was a kid I was fascinated by these creatures. They are an evolutionary oddity. If anyone wants a deeper dive, this abstract is comprehensive:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6479513/

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36 sats \ 6 replies \ @Coinsreporter 6 Mar

Incredible! The hand of humans and the break of a duck and they lay eggs but are mammals! Did you have them around you when you were a kid?

20 sats \ 5 replies \ @siggy47 OP 6 Mar

No! I wish. I used to think they were the size of a medium sized dog. They're actually pretty small. Their venom will apparently give you some serious pain, too.

36 sats \ 4 replies \ @Coinsreporter 6 Mar

So how did you come to know about them as a kid? I mean books or TV?

The zoophilist in me isn't letting me explore more and more about it. Here's a pic of baby platypus.

20 sats \ 3 replies \ @siggy47 OP 6 Mar

Tell me that doesn't look like a toy.

36 sats \ 2 replies \ @Coinsreporter 6 Mar

Haha! You caught it.

That’s not a baby platypus, this is a baby platypus

20 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 6 Mar

You had me going for a second

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36 sats \ 1 reply \ @Satosora 6 Mar

I think one of their feet have a comb so they can brush their hair/fur, right?

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 6 Mar

Yes, and a wifi hotspot on their tail, I believe.

36 sats \ 0 replies \ @NovaRift 6 Mar

They just amaze me!

Platypuses are one of the only mammals that can detect electricity, and one of the only mammals to produce venom. With a tail like a beaver, a flat bill, and webbed feet like a duck, when the first specimens were brought to Europe people thought they were fakes that had been sewn together. https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/rediscovery-platypus-echidna-proof-mammals-lay-eggs

36 sats \ 1 reply \ @grayruby 6 Mar

How could you not be fascinated with a name like that?

Sometimes I mention odd names of rarely discussed animals and my daughter will say “is that real” and then we will have to look it up and learn all about it.

40 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 6 Mar

The Platypus doesn't sound real or look real. It literally looks like someone glued a duck bill to its face.