The webbing on the hind foot does not extend beyond the bases of the claws.
#Plural of platypus skin#
Out of the water the skin folds under the foot, making it easier for the animal to walk and use its strong claws for digging burrows. In the water they expand and act as broad paddles. The skin of the webbed front paws extends beyond the long claws. They can stay underwater for several minutes. Both sight and hearing are then very acute. While floating at the surface, the platypus is always alert. The ears and eyes are closed by this fold of skin when diving, making the platypus both blind and deaf once it submerges. Both the earholes and the eyes are set into a deep fold in the skin. The eyes are small, and there are no external ears, but it has keen senses of sight and hearing. It is not hard like that of a bird, but is an elongated snout covered with soft moist leathery skin which contains sensitive nerve endings. The soft hairless bill resembles a duck bill. The fur on the broad flat tail is coarse and bristly. The underside is a golden colour although silky grey is not uncommon. The fur is deep brown on the back and sides of the head, body and upper surfaces of the limbs. It has two layers - a woolly undercoat and longer, shiny outer guard hairs - which together trap a layer of air next to the skin, keeping most of the animal's body dry even when diving. Platypus fur is extremely fine but dense. The male grows to a maximum of 24 inches(60cm) and the female 20 inches(50cm). The body shape of the platypus resembles that of a mole or otter with a broad, flat tail similar to that of a beaver. The platypus has been recorded to live to 16 years in the wild, the longest lifespan for a platypus in captivity is 17 years. The platypus is wholly protected throughout Australia. Whilst common in these areas, because of their shyness they are difficult to observe but may be seen partially submerged near the surface. They have also been introduced to Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The platypus is found in lakes, streams and rivers of eastern Australia, from Tasmania to south of Cooktown in Queensland. Later they were to learn that it layed eggs! The British Museum received a stuffed platypus in 1798, but the scientists thought it was a fake. The first platypus to be scientifically described came from the banks of a lake near the Hawkesbury River, near Sydney, in 1797. They are a strange mix with such unusual features such as the duck bill and webbed feet. Believed to originate some 200 million years ago, these furry mammals retain certain reptilian skeletal features. The echidna and the platypus are the only two existing monotremes (egg-laying mammals) in the world.
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