Plato Platypus

Plato wants to investigate unpolluted lakes, rivers and streams around the world, but would like to make his way back to Victoria, Australia eventually. He would love to have his photo taken by a peaceful waterway. Please keep him moving along.

The platypus is an unusual warm-blooded mammal in that it lays and hatches eggs. It was first described in 1799 by a British scientist, Dr George Shaw. His initial reaction to this original specimen was that it was an elaborate hoax. He even took a pair of scissors to the pelt, expecting to find stitches attaching the bill to the skin. At maturity, male platypus measure on average 50 centimetres in total body length (bill tip to tail tip). They typically weigh 1.2-2.6 kilograms. Adult females are smaller, measuring an average 43 centimetres in total body length and weighing 0.7-1.6 kilograms. Platypus have been recorded to live to at least 16 years in the wild, though most individuals die at a much younger age, and estimates of about 4-5 years for males and 6-8 years for females are not unreasonable. Plato and his extended family live in a wide variety of permanent streams, rivers and lakes along the eastern Australian coast from Tasmania in the south to Cooktown in the north. They may also use temporary or man-made water bodies, particularly when these are linked directly to streams or rivers. A platypus must eat relatively large quantities of food to survive - equivalent to about 15-30% of a given animal's body weight each day. They eat freshwater invertebrates such as shrimps, worms, yabbies, pea-shell mussels, and immature and adult aquatic insects (including mayflies, dragonflies, caddis flies, stoneflies, aquatic beetles, and water bugs). Small frogs and fish eggs are also eaten occasionally, along with some terrestrial insects that fall into the water from overhanging vegetation. They hunt in the water, mostly at night, and rely on their bill to locate prey. The upper and lower bill surfaces are packed with hundreds of receptors which respond to touch and the tiny electric currents produced when invertebrates move in the water. These receptors are also believed to be vital to the platypus's ability to navigate successfully among rocks and other obstacles when submerged. Around Melbourne, the Urban Platypus Program is having some success; platypus are starting to re-colonise the upper reaches of several waterways in response to habitat improvements. For more information about these fascinating and unusual animals, click here