Concerning Platypuses
1958; Oxford University Press; Volume: 39; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/1376798
ISSN1545-1542
Autores Tópico(s)Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
ResumoFor the past ten years the only living duck-billed platypuses, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, outside their native Australia and Tasmania were the two in the collection of the New York Zoological Society. These two (male and female), together with a third which died of pneumonia in 1948, were procured by David Fleay of the Badger Creek Sanctuary, Victoria. They reached New York on April 26,1947, at which time they were estimated to be about 16 months of age. Elaborate quarters were prepared providing a shallow tank for swimming and feeding, a dry retreat, and a bank for burrowing in case of attempted nest-building. The two were usually housed separately and during the summer, when they were outdoors, each was on display for a few hours daily. Over half a million visitors viewed them during this time. The platypus has been called “a kind of link between mammals and the later mammal-like reptiles of Triassic age” (W. K. Gregory, Bull Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist, 88 (1): 7, 1947). In many respects it still remains an enigma. The bill is a soft, leathery organ with two nostrils dorsally. Although teeth are present in the embryo, they are lost before hatching; in adults, serrations on the margins of the bill serve for capturing and crushing food. The heavy tail is flattened, beaver fashion. The skeleton contains an interclavicle and paired epipubic bones in both sexes. Each foot is broadly webbed and equipped with five claws. The purpose of the poison spur on the hind foot of the male is not well known. The senses of sight and hearing are keen in air, but when submerged the eyes and ears are closed by a fold of fur and the animal relies largely on touch, probing with its sensitive bill. The voice is a low growl, seldom heard.
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