A duckbilled platypus is a monotreme that has a bill and webbed feet. These features make it perfectly adapted to its environment which are the streams, rivers and ponds of eastern Australia and Tasmania.
The male duck billed platypus is larger than the female but only slightly, measuring about 60 cm long and weighing about 2 kg whereas the female is about 50 cm long and weighs 1.5 kg.
The most striking feature of the platypus is its bill, which is about 6 cm long in the male and 5cm long in the female. It is broad and flat and covered with a shiny black skin and is very much like the bill of a duck. The bill is a sensitive organ that is equipped with nerve endings that enable the platypus to probe the bed of the river or lake for food. Its eyes and ears close up when it swims underwater, which it does very well.
The male duck billed platypus is larger than the female but only slightly, measuring about 60 cm long and weighing about 2 kg whereas the female is about 50 cm long and weighs 1.5 kg.
The most striking feature of the platypus is its bill, which is about 6 cm long in the male and 5cm long in the female. It is broad and flat and covered with a shiny black skin and is very much like the bill of a duck. The bill is a sensitive organ that is equipped with nerve endings that enable the platypus to probe the bed of the river or lake for food. Its eyes and ears close up when it swims underwater, which it does very well.
