Platypus: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Australia · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. A platypus hunts with its eyes, ears and nose shut. It finds prey by electrolocation, sensing tiny electric currents.
2. Scientists passed a small electric current through an artificial shrimp, and the platypus reacted to it.
3. Males have ankle spurs that inject venom, strong enough to hurt a human. The pain can last as long as months.
4. Under ultraviolet light, the platypus glows cyan and green. This may camouflage it from UV-sensitive predators.
5. In 1799, the first scientists to study a platypus specimen thought it was a hoax, stitched together from several animals.

The quiz

1. What does the platypus keep shut while hunting underwater?

• Its eyes, ears and nose (correct)
• Only its mouth
• Its bill
• Its webbed feet

Underwater it shuts its eyes, ears and nose and hunts by electrolocation.

2. What did the platypus react to in experiments?

• A recorded insect buzz
• An artificial shrimp with a small current (correct)
• A flashing light
• A warm pebble

In experiments it even reacted to a fake shrimp carrying a small electric current.

3. How long can the pain from a male platypus's venom last?

• A few minutes
• A few hours
• One day
• As long as months (correct)

The pain can last as long as months.

4. What colours does the platypus glow under ultraviolet light?

• Red and orange
• Pink and yellow
• Blue and purple
• Cyan and green (correct)

It glows cyan and green under ultraviolet light.

5. What did scientists in 1799 think of the first preserved platypus?

• That it was a new kind of bird
• That it was a sick beaver
• That it was a fake made of several animals (correct)
• That it was a young crocodile

They thought it was a hoax, stitched together from several animals.

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