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Oh, hey, Squeaks. Whatcha laughing about?
Did someone tell you a joke? I love jokes!
Are you gonna tell me or what? What’s so funny?!
Oh? This picture? Hmmm… Let’s see.
It’s a picture of an animal with a flat beak and webbed feet like a duck…
and it lays an egg like a chicken.
So it’s kind of like a bird.
But it’s got the furry brown body of a mammal, like a human or a cat or a rat!
Yeah, this is a very funny-looking animal, Squeaks.
But you know something? This picture wasn’t meant to be a joke.
Believe it or not, this is a real animal! It’s called a platypus.
It’s okay, Squeaks. You’re not the only one
who thought platypuses were too silly to be real.
A long time ago, scientists saw a picture of a platypus for the first time.
They argued for years about whether platypuses really existed!
See, a platypus is a mammal.
Mammals are warm blooded animals that have hair
or fur and feed their babies milk when they're young.
Dogs, cats, monkeys, rats, and even people are all mammals!
And most of these mammals have some other things in common too,
like, having live babies instead of laying eggs.
It’s pretty surprising to learn about a furry mammal,
with a face like a duck, that lays eggs.
Platypuses are weird and wonderful, but they’re
also very good at living in their habitat.
A habitat is a place where plants and animals live.
In their habitat, they can find everything they need to survive and grow.
And all the strange features of the platypus are useful for the habitat they live in!
If platypuses look like a combination of a duck and a beaver,
that’s actually perfect for them.
Platypuses live in a place called Australia, and they spend
some of their time on land and some of their time in water.
And because they find their food in streams and rivers,
they have special body parts to help them out.
Take another look at the platypus’s feet.
Do you notice anything about their shape, or their structure?
Yes, they’re webbed, like a duck’s.
That means platypuses are fantastic swimmers!
They use their front webbed feet to paddle themselves forward in the water,
and their back feet and big beaver-like tail to steer.
And they’re very prepared for water safety!
When they’re swimming, platypuses close up their eyes,
their ears, and their nostrils!
They have special folds of skin that cover up their eyes and ears
to keep water from getting in.
That way, they can stay underwater long enough to swim around and find food.
That’s a great question, Squeaks.
The platypus does have a face like a duck.
But they don’t quack like a duck.
They use their duck-style bill to help them find food!
That leathery bill is super-sensitive to other living things hiding in the water.
When the platypus is underwater, its eyes and ears are folded away.
And it can find food using only that very sensitive schnozz.
Platypuses eat food they find at the bottom of the river, like worms or insects.
They scoop it up and keep it safe in pouches inside their cheeks.
And once they’re back on the surface, they’re ready to chow down!
Platypuses don’t have teeth, like most mammals do…
I told you it gets weirder! Platypuses can chew, but they don’t need teeth to do it!
When platypuses hunt, they gather up bits of dirt along with their food.
That helps them mash up their mouthful before they swallow.
They have flat, hard parts inside their beak to help too.
And even though platypuses have webbed feet for paddling around the water,
they need to be able to walk around on land, too.
So, when they need to walk or use their claws to dig,
they can actually change the structure of their feet by
pulling back the webbed skin that helps them when they’re swimming.
They use their claws to dig burrows at the edge of the water.
That’s where female platypuses lay their eggs.
And those eggs hatch into… Okay, wait, I think this is my favorite platypus fact!
Do you know what baby platypuses are called? ~
“Pups” is a great guess, but a baby platypus is called… A PUGGLE!
It’s the cutest thing in the universe. Just look at those puggles!
They’re SO super cute!
But if you’re wandering around Australia and you see a platypus,
you should leave it alone.
Because here’s another platypus fact: they can be poisonous!
I know, right? Male platypuses have something
called spurs sticking out of their back feet.
And they can use them to release venom, or poison.
They mostly use it against other platypuses.
And even though their venom doesn’t kill platypuses or humans, it hurts a lot!
But platypus venom might have a cool use for us humans:
scientists are trying to use it to invent new kinds of medicines.
You’re exactly right, Squeaks.
Squeaks wants to know how we know the platypus is a mammal,
like people and cats and rats, instead of a bird or something else.
You can tell an animal is a mammal if it has hair, and gives milk to its babies.
Platypuses do have fur, and they do give milk to their babies!
But most mammals also give birth to their babies.
Platypuses and their relatives, echidnas, are part of
a special type of mammal group called monotremes.
And monotremes don’t give birth the same way most mammals do.
Instead, they lay eggs that hatch later.
A very long time ago, around the time of the dinosaurs, the earliest mammals were
much more closely related to birds and reptiles.
And they probably laid eggs, too.
Mammals that gave birth to babies probably came later.
So… if animals like the platypus were here on earth first…
maybe we’re the weird ones?
That’s okay, buddy. I like being weird.
If you want to learn about more weird and wonderful animals with me, Squeaks,
and all our friends, be sure to subscribe for more fun episodes of SciShow Kids.
We’ll see you next time here at the Fort.
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