| Vivint inc |
| Vivint inc. APX Misleading and Misrepresentation Provo, Utah |
| 25th of Aug, 2011 by User239873 |
| I'm reporting this company called Vivint formally APX. They install home security systems. My complaint or complaint's are numerous. First sales pitch is pushy and misleading ; I was told if I put a lighted sign in my front yard [Which is not lighted by the way] that they would pay for all equipment and installation fee's which I hope are true; but I did not receive all the thing's that were promised. And I was told that this offer was the last one of it's kind unless my neighbor's purchased it first except they were telling everyone who came to the door the same thing' And also I could not read my copies of the contract. Then the installer was at my door before I signed the paper or had handed the man any money. I guess he just happened to be in my neighborhood that was fast. Then that set me to thinking so I went online and checked out with Consumer Report's and the BBB and found numerous complaints of various sorts and a few like my own. Not to mention the complaints right there in Provo Utah were the company is based and also many more from around the nation not mention one from my own state that very month. Needless to say that did not install confidense in the company or their product. So I do not fill very comfortable at this time with my purchase. |
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The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. It is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species have been found in the fossil record.
The bizarre appearance of this egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, with some considering it an elaborate fraud. It is one of the few venomous mammals, the male platypus having a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans. The unique features of the platypus make it an important subject in the study of evolutionary biology and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia; it has appeared as a mascot at national events and is featured on the reverse of the Australian 20 cent coin. The platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales.[3]
Until the early 20th century it was hunted for its fur, but it is now protected throughout its range. Although captive breeding programmes have had only limited success and the platypus is vulnerable to the effects of pollution, it is not under any immediate threat.
Contents [hide]
1 Taxonomy and etymology
2 Description
2.1 Venom
2.2 Electrolocation
3 Ecology and behaviour
3.1 Reproduction
3.2 Sleep
4 Evolution
5 Conservation status
6 Platypus in wildlife sanctuaries
6.1 Queensland
6.1.1 Gold Coast
6.1.2 Brisbane
6.2 New South Wales
6.2.1 Sydney
6.3 Victoria
6.3.1 Healesville
6.4 South Australia
6.4.1 Mylor
7 Cultural references
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links
Taxonomy and etymology
When the platypus was first encountered by Europeans in 1798, a pelt and sketch were sent back to Great Britain by Captain John Hunter, the second Governor of New South Wales.[4] British scientists' initial hunch was that the attributes were a hoax.[5] George Shaw, who produced the first description of the animal in the Naturalist's Miscellany in 1799, stated that it was impossible not to entertain doubts as to its genuine nature, and Robert Knox believed it might have been produced by some Asian taxidermist.[5] It was thought that somebody had sewn a duck's beak onto the body of a beaver-like animal. Shaw even took a pair of scissors to the dried skin to check for stitches.[6]
The common name "platypus" is the latinisation of the Greek word ????????? (platupous), "flat-footed", [7] from ?????? (platus), "broad, wide, flat"[8] and ???? (pous), "foot".[9][10] Shaw assigned it as a Linnaean genus name when he initially described it, but the term was quickly discovered to belong already to the wood-boring ambrosia beetle (genus Platypus).[11] It was independently described as Ornithorhynchus paradoxus by Johann Blumenbach in 1800 (from a specimen given to him by Sir Joseph Banks)[12] and following the rules of priority of nomenclature it was later officially recognised as Ornithorhynchus anatinus.[11] The scientific name Ornithorhynchus anatinus is derived from ???????????? ("ornithorhynkhos"), which literally means "bird snout" in Greek, and anatinus, which means "duck-like" in Latin.
There is no universally agreed plural of "platypus" in the English language. Scientists generally use "platypuses" or simply "platypus". Colloquially the term "platypi" is also used for the plural, although this is technically incorrect and a form of pseudo-Latin;[6] the correct Greek plural would be "platypodes". Early British settlers called it by many names, such as watermole, duckbill, and duckmole.[6] The name "platypus" is often prefixed with the adjective "duck-billed" to form duck-billed platypus, despite there being only one species of platypus.[13]
Description
The body and the broad, flat tail of the platypus are covered with dense brown fur that traps a layer of insulating air to keep the animal warm.[6][11] The fur is waterproof, and the texture is akin to that of a mole.[14] The platypus uses its tail for storage of fat reserves (an adaptation also found in animals such as the Tasmanian Devil[15] and fat-tailed sheep). It has webbed feet and a large, rubbery snout; these are features that appear closer to those of a duck than to those of any known mammal. The webbing is more significant on the front feet and is folded back when walking on land.[11] Unlike a bird's beak (in which the upper and lower parts separate to reveal the mouth), the snout of the platypus is a sensory organ with the mouth on the underside. The nostrils are located on the dorsal surface of the snout, while the eyes and ears are located in a groove set just back from it; this groove is closed when swimming.[11] Platypuses have been heard to emit a low growl when disturbed and a range of other vocalisations have been reported in captive specimens.[6]
A colour print of platypuses from 1863
Weight varies considerably from 0.7 to 2.4 kg (1.5 to 5.3 lb), with males being larger than females: males average 50 cm (20 in) in total length while females average 43 cm (17 in).[11] There is substantial variation in average size from one region to another, and this pattern does not seem to follow any particular climatic rule and may be due to other environmental factors such as predation and human encroachment.[16]
The platypus has an average body temperature of about 32 °C (90 °F) rather than the 37 °C (99 °F) typical of placental mammals.[17] Research suggests this has been a gradual adaptation to harsh environmental conditions on the part of the small number of surviving monotreme species rather than a historical characteristic of monotremes.[18][19]
Modern platypus young have three-cusped molars, which they lose before or just after leaving the breeding burrow;[20][21] adults have heavily keratinised pads in their place.[11] The platypus jaw is constructed differently from that of other mammals, and the jaw-opening muscle is different.[11] As in all true mammals, the tiny bones that conduct sound in the middle ear are fully incorporated into the skull, rather than lying in the jaw as in cynodonts and other pre-mammalian synapsids. However, the external opening of the ear still lies at the base of the jaw.[11] The platypus has extra bones in the shoulder girdle, including an interclavicle, which is not found in other mammals.[11] It has a reptilian gait, with legs that are on the sides of the body, rather than underneath.[11] When on land it engages in knuckle-walking to protect the webbing between its toes.[22]
Venom
Main article: Platypus venom
The calcaneus spur found on the male's hind limb is used to deliver venom.
While both male and female platypuses are born with ankle spurs, only the male has spurs which produce a cocktail of venom, [23][24][25] composed largely of defensin-like proteins (DLPs), three of which are unique to the platypus.[26] The defensin proteins are produced by the immune system of the platypus. Although powerful enough to kill smaller animals such as dogs, the venom is not lethal to humans, but is so excruciating that the victim may be incapacitated.[26][27] Oedema rapidly develops around the wound and gradually spreads throughout the affected limb. Information obtained from case histories and anecdotal evidence indicates that the pain develops into a long-lasting hyperalgesia (a heightened sensitivity to pain) that persists for days or even months.[28][29] Venom is produced in the crural glands of the male, which are kidney-shaped alveolar glands connected by a thin-walled duct to a calcaneus spur on each hind limb. The female platypus, in common with echidnas, has rudimentary spur buds which do not develop (dropping off before the end of their first year) and lack functional crural glands.[11]
The venom appears to have a different function from those produced by non-mammalian species: its effects are not life-threatening to humans but nevertheless powerful enough to seriously impair the victim. Since only males produce venom and production rises during the breeding season, it is theorised that it is used as an offensive weapon to assert dominance during this period.[26]
Electrolocation
Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)
Monotremes (for the other species, see Echidna) are the only mammals known to have a sense of electroreception: they locate their prey in part by detecting electric fields generated by muscular contractions. The platypus' electroreception is the most sensitive of any monotreme.[30][31]
The electroreceptors are located in rostro-caudal rows in the skin of the bill, while mechanoreceptors (which detect touch) are uniformly distributed across the bill. The electrosensory area of the cerebral cortex is contained within the tactile somatosensory area, and some cortical cells receive input from both electroreceptors and mechanoreceptors, suggesting a close association between the tactile and electric senses. Both electroreceptors and mechanoreceptors in the bill dominate the somatotopic map of the platypus brain, in the same way human hands dominate the Penfield homunculus map.[32][33]
The platypus can determine the direction of an electric source, perhaps by comparing differences in signal strength across the sheet of electroreceptors. This would explain the characteristic side-to-side motion of the animal's head while hunting. The cortical convergence of electrosensory and tactile inputs suggests a mechanism for determining the distance of prey items which, when they move, emit both electrical signals and mechanical pressure pulses: the difference between the times of arrival of the two signals would allow computation of distance.[31]
The platypus feeds by neither sight nor smell, [34] closing its eyes, ears, and nose each time it dives.[35] Rather, when it digs in the bottom of streams with its bill, its electroreceptors detect tiny electrical currents generated by muscular contractions of its prey, so enabling it to distinguish between animate and inanimate objects, which continuously stimulate its mechanoreceptors.[31] Experiments have shown that the platypus will even react to an "artificial shrimp" if a small electrical current is passed through it.[36]
Ecology and behaviour
Dentition, as illustrated in Knight's Sketches in Natural History
The platypus is very difficult to spot even on the surface of a river.
Platypus swimming
Swimming underwater at Sydney Aquarium, Australia
The platypus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting small streams and rivers over an extensive range from the cold highlands of Tasmania and the Australian Alps to the tropical rainforests of coastal Queensland as far north as the base of the Cape York Peninsula.[37] Inland, its distribution is not well known: it is extinct in South Australia (apart from an introduced population on Kangaroo Island)[38] and is no longer found in the main part of the Murray–Darling Basin, possibly due to the declining water quality brought about by extensive land clearing and irrigation schemes.[39] Along the coastal river systems, its distribution is unpredictable; it appears to be absent from some relatively healthy rivers, and yet maintains a presence in others that are quite degraded (the lower Maribyrnong, for example).[40]
In captivity platypuses have survived to seventeen years of age, and wild specimens have been recaptured when eleven years old. Mortality rates for adults in the wild appear to be low.[11] Natural predators include snakes, water rats, goannas, hawks, owls, and eagles. Low platypus numbers in northern Australia are possibly due to predation by crocodiles.[41] The introduction of red foxes in 1845 for hunting may have had some impact on its numbers on the mainland.[16] The platypus is generally regarded as nocturnal and crepuscular, but individuals are also active during the day, particularly when the sky is overcast.[42][43] Its habitat bridges rivers and the riparian zone for both a food supply of prey species and banks where it can dig resting and nesting burrows.[43] It may have a range of up to 7 km (4.3 mi), with a male's home range overlapping those of 3 or 4 females.[44]
The platypus is an excellent swimmer and spends much of its time in the water foraging for food. When swimming it can be distinguished from other Australian mammals by the absence of visible ears.[45] Uniquely among mammals it propels itself when swimming by an alternate rowing motion of the front two feet; although all four feet of the platypus are webbed, the hind feet (which are held against the body) do not assist in propulsion, but are used for steering in combination with the tail.[46] The species is endothermic, maintaining its body temperature at about 32 °C (90 °F), lower than most mammals, even while foraging for hours in water below 5 °C (41 °F).[11]
Dives normally last around 30 seconds but can last longer, although few exceed the estimated aerobic limit of 40 seconds. Recovery at the surface between dives commonly takes from 10 to 20 seconds.[47][48] The platypus is a carnivore: it feeds on annelid worms and insect larvae, freshwater shrimps, and yabbies (freshwater crayfish) that it digs out of the riverbed with its snout or catches while swimming. It utilises cheek-pouches to carry prey to the surface, where they are eaten.[45] The platypus needs to eat about 20% of its own weight each day. This requires the platypus to spend an average of 12 hours each day looking for food.[47] When not in the water, the platypus retires to a short, straight resting burrow of oval cross-section, nearly always in the riverbank not far above water level, and often hidden under a protective tangle of roots.[45]
Reproduction
When the platypus was first encountered by European naturalists, they were divided over whether the female laid eggs. This was not confirmed until 1884 when W. H. Caldwell was sent to Australia where, after extensive searching assisted by a team of 150 Aborigines, he managed to discover a few eggs.[11][26] Mindful of the high cost per word of wiring England, Caldwell famously but tersely wired London, "Monotremes oviparous, ovum meroblastic." That is, monotremes lay eggs, and the eggs are similar to those of reptiles in that only part of the egg divides as it develops.
The species exhibits a single breeding season; mating occurs between June and October, with some local variation taking place between different populations across its range.[41] Historical observation, mark-and-recapture studies, and preliminary investigations of population genetics indicate the possibility of both resident and transient members of populations and suggest a polygynous mating system.[49] Females are thought likely to become sexually mature in their second year, with breeding confirmed still to take place in animals over nine years old.[49]
Outside the mating season, the platypus lives in a simple ground burrow whose entrance is about 30 cm (12 in) above the water level. After mating, the female constructs a deeper, more elaborate burrow up to 20 m (66 ft) long and blocked at intervals with plugs (which may act as a safeguard against rising waters or predators, or as a method of regulating humidity and temperature).[50] The male takes no part in caring for its young, and retreats to its year-long burrow. The female softens the ground in the burrow with dead, folded, wet leaves and she fills the nest at the end of the tunnel with fallen leaves and reeds for bedding material. This material is dragged to the nest by tucking it underneath her curled tail.[6]
The female platypus has a pair of ovaries but only the left one is functional.[42] It lays one to three (usually two) small, leathery eggs (similar to those of reptiles), that are about 11 mm (0.43 in) in diameter and slightly rounder than bird eggs.[51] The eggs develop in utero for about 28 days with only about 10 days of external incubation (in contrast to a chicken egg, which spends about 1 day in tract and 21 days externally).[42] After laying her eggs, the female curls around them. The incubation period is divided into three phases. In the first phase, the embryo has no functional organs and relies on the yolk sac for sustenance. The yolk is absorbed by the developing young.[52] During the second phase, the digits develop and, in the last phase, the egg tooth appears.[53]
The newly hatched young are vulnerable, blind, and hairless, and are fed by the mother's milk. Although possessing mammary glands, the platypus lacks teats. Instead, milk is released through pores in the skin. There are grooves on her abdomen in which the milk pools, allowing the young to lap it up.[6][41] After they hatch, the offspring are suckled for three to four months. During incubation and weaning, the mother initially leaves the burrow only for short periods, to forage. When doing so, she creates a number of thin soil plugs along the length of the burrow, possibly to protect the young from predators; pushing past these on her return forces water from her fur and allows the burrow to remain dry.[54] After about five weeks, the mother begins to spend more time away from her young and, at around four months, the young emerge from the burrow.[41] A platypus is born with teeth, but these drop out at a very early age, leaving the horny plates with which it grinds its food.[55]
Sleep
Further information: Sleep (non-human)
The average sleep time in a 24-hour period of a platypus is said to be as long as 14 hours. "Why? Maybe because just a little crustacean meal packs a huge caloric punch."[56]
Evolution
Platypus skeleton
The platypus and other monotremes were very poorly understood and some of the 19th century myths that grew up around them—for example, that the monotremes were "inferior" or quasi-reptilian—still endure.[57] In 1947, William King Gregory theorised that placental mammals and marsupials may have diverged earlier and a subsequent branching divided the monotremes and marsupials, but later research and fossil discoveries have suggested this is incorrect.[57][58] In fact, modern monotremes are the survivors of an early branching of the mammal tree, and a later branching is thought to have led to the marsupial and placental groups.[57][59] Molecular clock and fossil dating suggest platypuses split from echidnas around 19–48 million years ago.[60]
Platypus
Echidnas
live birth
Marsupials
true placenta
Eutherians
Evolutionary relationships between the platypus and other mammals.[61]
The oldest discovered fossil of the modern platypus dates back to about 100, 000 years ago, during the Quaternary period. The extinct monotremes Teinolophos and Steropodon were closely related to the modern platypus.[58] The fossilised Steropodon was discovered in New South Wales and is composed of an opalised lower jawbone with three molar teeth (whereas the adult contemporary platypus is toothless). The molar teeth were initially thought to be tribosphenic, which would have supported a variation of Gregory's theory, but later research has suggested that, while they have three cusps, they evolved under a separate process.[20] The fossil is thought to be about 110 million years old, which means that the platypus-like animal was alive during the Cretaceous period, making it the oldest mammal fossil found in Australia. Monotrematum sudamericanum, another fossil relative of the platypus, has been found in Argentina, indicating that monotremes were present in the supercontinent of Gondwana when the continents of South America and Australia were joined via Antarctica (up to about 167 million years ago).[20][62]
Because of the early divergence from the therian mammals and the low numbers of extant monotreme species, the platypus is a frequent subject of research in evolutionary biology. In 2004, researchers at the Australian National University discovered the platypus has ten sex chromosomes, compared with two (XY) in most other mammals (for instance, a male platypus is always XYXYXYXYXY), [63] although, given the XY designation of mammals, the sex chromosomes of the platypus are more similar to the ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes found in birds.[64] The platypus genome also has both reptilian and mammalian genes associated with egg fertilisation.[65] Since the platypus lacks the mammalian sex-determining gene SRY, the mechanism of sex determination remains unknown.[66] A draft version of the platypus genome sequence was published in Nature on 8 May 2008, revealing both reptilian and mammalian elements, as well as two genes found previously only in birds, amphibians, and fish. More than 80% of the platypus' genes are common to the other mammals whose genomes have been sequenced.[65]
Conservation status
A depiction of a platypus from a book for children published in Germany in 1798
Except for its loss from the state of South Australia, the platypus occupies the same general distribution as it did prior to European settlement of Australia. However, local changes and fragmentation of distribution due to human modification of its habitat are documented. Its current and historical abundance, however, are less well-known and it has probably declined in numbers, although still being considered as common over most of its current range.[43] The species was extensively hunted for its fur until the early years of the 20th century and, although protected throughout Australia since 1905, [54] until about 1950 it was still at risk of drowning in the nets of inland fisheries.[39] The platypus does not appear to be in immediate danger of extinction thanks to conservation measures, but it could be impacted by habitat disruption caused by dams, irrigation, pollution, netting, and trapping.[2] The IUCN lists the platypus on its Red List as Least Concern.[2]
Platypuses generally suffer from few diseases in the wild; however, there is widespread public concern in Tasmania about the potential impacts of a disease caused by the fungus Mucor amphibiorum. The disease (termed Mucormycosis) affects only Tasmanian platypuses and has not been observed in platypuses in mainland Australia. Affected platypuses can develop ugly skin lesions or ulcers on various parts of the body, including their backs, tails, and legs. Mucormycosis can kill platypuses, death arising from secondary infection and by affecting the animals' ability to maintain body temperature and forage efficiency. The Biodiversity Conservation Branch at the Department of Primary Industries and Water are collaborating with NRM north and University of Tasmania researchers to determine the impacts of the disease on Tasmanian platypuses, as well as the mechanism of transmission and current spread of the disease.[67] Until recently, the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) was confined to mainland Australia, but growing evidence now indicates that it is present in low numbers in Tasmania.[68]
Much of the world was introduced to the platypus in 1939 when National Geographic Magazine published an article on the platypus and the efforts to study and raise it in captivity. The latter is a difficult task, and only a few young have been successfully raised since—notably at Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria. The leading figure in these efforts was David Fleay, who established a platypusary—a simulated stream in a tank—at the Healesville Sanctuary, where breeding was successful in 1943. In 1972, he found a dead baby of about 50 days old, which had presumably been born in captivity, at his wildlife park at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast, Queensland.[69] Healesville repeated its success in 1998 and again in 2000 with a similar stream tank. Taronga Zoo in Sydney bred twins in 2003, and breeding was again successful there in 2006.[70]
Platypus in wildlife sanctuaries
Platypus House at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane, Queensland
The platypus can be seen in special aquariums at the following Australian wildlife sanctuaries:
Queensland
Gold Coast
David Fleay Wildlife Park
Brisbane
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary [71]
Walkabout Creek Wildlife Centre
New South Wales
Sydney
Taronga Zoo
Victoria
Healesville
Healesville Sanctuary, near Melbourne, where the first platypus was bred in captivity, during 1943, by naturalist David Fleay.
South Australia
Mylor
Warrawong Sanctuary near Mylor in the Adelaide Hills (near Adelaide).
Cultural references
The Australian 20 cent coin features a platypus
Since the introduction of decimal currency to Australia in 1966, the embossed image of a platypus has appeared on the reverse (tail) side of the 20 cent coin.
The platypus has been used several times as a mascot: "Syd" the platypus was one of the three mascots chosen for the Sydney 2000 Olympics along with an echidna and a kookaburra, [72] "Expo Oz" the platypus was the mascot for World Expo 88, which was held in Brisbane in 1988, [73] and Hexley the platypus is the mascot for Apple Computer's BSD-based Darwin operating system, Mac OS X.[74] The platypus is also the mascot for the currently inactive Wenatchee Valley Venom arena football team located in Wenatchee, Washington.
The Platypus Trophy was made as an award for the winner of the college rivalry between the Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers.
The platypus has also been featured in songs, such as Green Day's "Platypus (I Hate You)" and Mr. Bungle's "Platypus". It is the subject of a children's poem by Banjo Paterson, [75] and it also frequently appears as a character in children's television programmes, for example, the Platypus Family on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Perry the Platypus on the show Phineas and Ferb, and Ovide, the star of the cartoon Ovide and the Gang.[76]
In the 1980s, the platypus was the main animal featured on promotional ads for the educational animal encyclopedia "Wildlife Treasury". In the ad, an excited young boy exclaims: "The Duck Billed Platypus has feet like a duck but it's furry! It's all in my Wildlife Treasury!"
The platypus is sometimes jokingly referred to as proof that God has a sense of humour (at the beginning of the film Dogma, for example; Robin Williams implied that He was also stoned on marijuana at the time[77]) and is also often used humorously (along with the camel) to describe something designed by committee. For the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" novel Q-Squared, the titled character claims (in private) to a disbelieving Capt. Picard he personally influenced God's decision to create/evolve the platypus.
The platypus is also a pet in the massively multiplayer online role playing game RuneScape.
"Platypus Man" was a short lived, 1995 sitcom aired on Fox Television and/or UPN in the United States. Fox also had an animated program called "Taz-Mania, " featuring the Platypus Bros.: Daniel and Timothy. |
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The platypus is among nature's most unlikely animals. In fact, the first scientists to examine a specimen believed they were the victims of a hoax. The animal is best described as a hodgepodge of more familiar species: the duck (bill and webbed feet), beaver (tail), and otter (body and fur). Males are also venomous. They have sharp stingers on the heels of their rear feet and can use them to deliver a strong toxic blow to any foe.
Platypuses hunt underwater, where they swim gracefully by paddling with their front webbed feet and steering with their hind feet and beaverlike tail. Folds of skin cover their eyes and ears to prevent water from entering, and the nostrils close with a watertight seal. In this posture, a platypus can remain submerged for a minute or two and employ its sensitive bill to find food.
These Australian mammals are bottom feeders. They scoop up insects and larvae, shellfish, and worms in their bill along with bits of gravel and mud from the bottom. All this material is stored in cheek pouches and, at the surface, mashed for consumption. Platypuses do not have teeth, so the bits of gravel help them to "chew" their meal.
On land, platypuses move a bit more awkwardly. However, the webbing on their feet retracts to expose individual nails and allow the creatures to run. Platypuses use their nails and feet to construct dirt burrows at the water's edge.
Platypus reproduction is nearly unique. It is one of only two mammals (the echidna is the other) that lay eggs.
Females seal themselves inside one of the burrow's chambers to lay their eggs. A mother typically produces one or two eggs and keeps them warm by holding them between her body and her tail. The eggs hatch in about ten days, but platypus infants are the size of lima beans and totally helpless. Females nurse their young for three to four months until the babies can swim on their own. |
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The shy Platypus is found only in eastern Australia, where they live on the edges of rivers and freshwater lakes where burrows can be dug.
The best streams are ones where the banks are strong enough for building their deep burrows, and often these banks overhang the river. During the day, a Platypus often rests in this burrow, but it may spend some hours near the entrance to the burrow, basking in the sun and grooming its dense fur. But Platypuses (or platypi) are most active for several hours after dusk and before dawn.
Platypuses are renound for their excellence in the water as both a diver and swimmer
SWIMMING
Whilst underwater the Platypus has its eyes and ears shut and, being buoyant, it must continuously swim downwards with its webbed forefeet to remain submerged. Webbing on the front feet extends well beyond the claws, forming large paddles for swimming. The hindfeet of the Platypus are also webbed but are employed in steering or braking - not in propulsion., platypuses can swim underwater for two minutes, but may 'rest' underneath a submerged object for up to 10 minutes. Dense fur fibres trap a layer of air next to the skin, giving excellent insulation for an animal that spends up to 12 hours each day in water as cold as 0 degrees Celsius.
DESCRIPTION
The Platypus has a bill that resembles a duck's bill but is actually an elongated snout covered with soft, moist, leathery skin and sensitive nerve endings. The body of the platypus is 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 in) long; the flattened tail measures 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in) in length. The feet are webbed. The body and tail are covered with a thick, soft, woolly layer of fur, from which long, flat hairs protrude. The platypus has three layers of fur: 1. an inside layer to trap air and keep the animal warm 2. a middle layer which works like a wet suit 3. an outer layer to feel if it is close to objects A Platypus grows to a maximum weight of 1 to 2.4 kg (2.2 to 5.3 lb). The Platypus is known to live for at least 12 years in the wild
TOXIC SPUR
The male Platypus has a sharp, hollow, horny spur about 15 millimetres long on the inside of both hind leg ankles. This is connected to a venom gland which produces a very strong toxin. The spur can be used in defence against predators (the venom can cause excruciating pain in humans and is strong enough to kill a dog.) but the fact that it is restricted to the male - and that the gland reaches its greatest development in the mating season - suggests that it is normally employed in aggressive encounters between males.
FEEDING
The Platypus usally feeds at night on aquatic insect larvae, shrimps and worms by dabbling in mud or silt on the bottom of rivers and freshwater lakes with its sensitive, flexible, duck-like snout, aided by . electroreceptors (electronic sense) on its bill These are stored in the cheek pouches and will be chewed after returning to the surface. The Platypus can eat their own body weight in food in one night
MONOTRENS
Monotremes are a sub family of Mammals and there are only 2 animals that belong to this sub family Platypus and Echidnas. monotremes lay eggs rather than giving birth to their young. ...Click on Echidna pic to go to my Echidna page
REPRODUCTION
Platypus males are larger than females. Mating occurs once a year, beginning in late June in the warmer northern parts and in October in the southern part. The female usually lays two eggs ( the soft leathery egg resembles a reptiles egg) but may lay up to four and incubates these against her abdomen
(by clasping them with its tail)for about two weeks in a blocked-off nest at the end of a long breeding burrow. The young "puggle" have no fur when they hatch. The female has no teats. Milk is produced in large glands under her skin which oozes out onto a patch of fur and the young Platypus (puggle) sucks it up.
THREATS and PRESERVATION
The biggest threat to the Platypus is the loss of Habitat, as man clears land and pollutes the waterways.
Natural enemies of the platypus includes, snakes, water rats, goannas, and foxes (that were introduced).
Taronga Zoo in Sydney and the Healesville Sancturary in Victoria have succesfully bred platypuses in captivity. |
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The platypus is found in eastern Australia. They live aside freshwater rivers or lakes, and create burrows for shelter and protection. They are active mainly at nighttime hours, and use their webbed feet for swimming. When swimming the platypus has its eyes shut. They swim underwater for 2 minutes, before returning to the surface for oxygen. They can however stay underwater for up to 10 minutes, and due to their natural buoyancy, they need to be underneath another object to do this.
The Platypus has a wooly furred coat and range from 30cm to 45cms in length and the tail about 10 to 15 cms. The wooly furred coat actually has three different layers. The first layer keeps the animal warm, by trapping air, the second layer which provides an insulating coat for the animal, and lastly the third layer of long flat hairs to detect objects close by. These creatures weight on average between 1 to 2.4 kilograms. They have an average lifespan of 12 years.
This lifespan may be shortly diminished, as the platypuses biggest threats are snakes, goannas, rats and foxes. Another big threat to the platypus is man, via waterway pollution or land clearing.
Platypuses feed on insect larvae, worms or other freshwater insects. They do so mainly at night, by the use of their bill. They turn up mud on the bottom of the lake or river, and with the help of their electroreceptors located on the bill, find many insects and freshwater insects. They store their findings in special pouches behind their bill, and are consumed upon returning to the surface.
Amazing Fact: Platypuses can consume their own body weight in food in a 24 hour period!
Male platypus are larger than the female. They reproduct by mating which occurs once a year, between June - October. The female lays between 2 - 4 eggs and incubates these for a two week period. When a young platypus is born, they feed from milk from the mother. The mother secretes this milk from large glands under the skin, the young platypus feed from this milk which ends up on the mothers fur.
If you thought this was a cute and cuddly Australian animal, well, you are only half correct. The male platypi have a hollow spur about 15 milimetres in length on the inside of both hind legs. This in turn is connected to a venom gland, and the platypus uses this spur to defend itself against predators.
Amazing Fact: The male platypus has venom strong enough to can kill a small dog, or cause excruciating pain among humans.
Since only the male platypus has this venomous spur, and the gland peaks during mating season, many suggest it is normally used in aggressive encounters between other male platypus.
A baby platypus is not called a puggle, which seems to be a common misconception. There is no official name for a baby platypus, but a common suggested name is "platypup". |
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The duck-billed platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, is a primitive Australian mammal (a monotreme) that lays eggs. After an egg hatches, the tiny baby (called a puggle) drinks its mother's milk, which comes from tiny openings in the mother's belly. They have a life span of 10-17 years. Platypus live in burrows and spend much of their time in freshwater ponds and streams. The name platypus means "flat footed."
Anatomy: The duck-billed platypus is about the size of a pet cat. It has thick, waterproof fur all over its body (except for the feet and bill). The legs sprawl out to the side of the body, giving it a lizard-like walk. Males are venomous - they have a poisoned spike on their ankles which the platypus can use to kill small animals in self-defense.
Diet: This carnivore (meat-eater) uses its bill to strain its tiny prey, like crayfish, worms, insects, snails, and shrimp from muddy water. It can store food in cheek pouches while it is hunting underwater. |
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The duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a unique creationary case, and one that requires a great deal of consideration and debate. Since we can not accurately define the Biblical "kinds" we should be careful about denying that animals are transitionals. It is almost certain that groups of animals exists, that are considered by creationists to be unique kinds, which are instead related. If it were not for the breeding history of the canine, it is likely none of us would realize that the fox, wolf, hyena, etc., all belong to the same kindship group. We could easily be guilty of denying a fox-looking wolf was a transitional, but indeed that would be the case. The significance of bear-looking raccoons or visa-versa may likewise be overlooked by not recognizing these transitionals as such.
Given our knowledge of evolution and the production of variability through genetic recombination, it would appear certain that no Biblical "kind" would exist today as only a single species. Although species extinctions are certain in a compromised post-flood environment, the Biblical kinds possessed the ability to survive through evolutionary adaptations, and have evolved in most cases following the great flood into a tremendous variety of species. In addition, God created a great many varieties within each major group of organisms. The creationary community generally accept the many mammalian Families are frequently analogous to the groups defined in the Bible as "kinds". Not only are there a great many types of mammals (i.e. carnivores, rodents, cloven-hoofed), but also many Biblical kinds within each of these major groups. If would therefore seem extremely unlikely, that following their preservation from the flood, every species but one from an entire group like the placental mammals would be extinct today. That may indeed be the case with the duck-billed platypus unless this animal has evolved from another animal.
Monotremes - Egg-laying Mammals
The duck-billed platypus is a monotreme which are a subfamily of mammals. They feed their young with milk, but instead of suckling from a teat, the milk simply oozes from glands under the skin, and is lapped up from a patch of fur. However, the most unique feature possessed by these mammals is their egg-laying reproduction (pictured at right) instead of live birth like all other mammals . Other than the duck-billed platypus, there is only one other monotreme living today; a small spiny anteater called an Echidna. Monotremes, like most of the marsupials on earth are found exclusively in Australia.
The platypus also possesses a number of other specializations many of which are unique to the platypi. They have a duck-like bill for dabbling through mud which is actually an elongated snout, and a paddle tale similar to a beavers that it uses for swimming. The male platypus is also equipped with a poisonous spur effective for defense against predators and mating competitors.
Similarities to Marsupials
Monotremes possess at least two similarities to Marsupials that suggest a possible link related to their origins. First and most importantly they are both mammals that have an alternative reproductive system to the majority on earth. Neither have a placenta, and both give birth much earlier than placental mammals. The young of the marsupial matures following birth inside a pouch. The second difference suggesting an associated origin, is the fact they are also the only other natural mammalian inhabitants of Australia. Prior to the modern introduction of placentals such as the dingo, the continent was inhabited exclusively by monotreme and marsupial mammals. Most of the 140 species of marsupials in Australia are found nowhere else in the world, and the naturally occurring marsupial in the United States is the possum, Didelphis marsupialis. This distribution pattern must be explained through natural affects upon these animals following their release from the ark.
A New Creationary Theory
Another fascinating fact about Marsupials is the number of species which are otherwise identical to placental animals. For example, the picture at right is of the marsupial dog which was hunted to extinction by the Australian government beginning in the late 1800s. The amazing similarities between the marsupials and placentals, in addition to the highly postflood concentration of marsupials in Australia has stimulated a new creation theory of marsupial origins.
The power of genetic recombination to alter an organism is still beyond our ability to predict, but it is certain they occur by design to change organisms. Rates of gestation, and the timing of birth are made highly variable through these reactions, and the placental system of reproduction is certainly modified as a result. It is therefore reasonable to propose that genetic recombination can alter a mammal from the placental mode of reproduction to marsupial, and the modern presence of these animals alternatively explained through regional selective pressures related to Australia.
Given the similarities between monotremes and marsupials, it may likewise be logical to propose animals such as the duck-billed platypus have evolved from another placental mammal. Evolution is not driven by random genetic changes as the atheistic scientific community would have us believe. Instead genetic recombination is responsible for the variations found in nature, and through a coordinated manipulation, the changes necessary to convert a placental into the monotreme mode of reproduction may also be theoretically possible.
Conclusion
This creation science theory may finally lay to rest a mystery that has caused a great many people to believe in the evolution of all animals from a common ancestor. The absence of plancentals or exclusive existence of multiple marsupials and the monotremes on Australia can not be explained by a natural postflood migration from Mt. Ararat in Turkey. This very fact has even caused a great many Christians to instead accept that these inhabitants must have evolved in Australia from a single ancestor.
Truly, the postflood fauna in Australia may be otherwise inexplicable, and the ability to change from placental reproduction to marsupial and monotreme has simply been overlooked by secular scientists who do not perceive that evolution occurs by design. God clearly designed DNA editing machinery within our cells, and given our level of understanding of these reactions, it is theoretically possible that intentional changes could alter the genes of organisms in the coordinated manner necessary to accomplish this change in several animals due to common selective pressures.
Given the tremendous similarity between the marsupial and placental twins, it would seem that the obvious explanation has been overlooked in this case. This is almost certainly due to the atheistic presupposition that mutations are responsible for the genetic diversity driving evolution. Such random variability could not possibly assemble the genetic code necessary to create the same reproductive system in multiple organism, but intelligently designed machinery is expected to generate the same certain outcome under similar circumstances. There are most certainly evolutionary accomplishments evident today that cannot be explained by random mutations, and instead creation science theory alone is able to solve such mysteries. |
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Duck-Billed Platypuses are semi-aquatic mammals. They have a body length between 40 and 60 cms (16 - 23.5 inches), a tail length between 8.5 and 15 cms (3.25 - 6 inches), a bill length between 5.2 and 5.8 cms (2 - 2.3 inches) and they weigh between 0.8 and 2.5 Kgs (1.75 - 5.5 lbs). Males are larger than females and there are size variations depending on their location and the season.
They have short, thick fur which is coloured dark brown on their back, but lighter on their underside. They have short limbs with webbed front feet and partially webbed hind feet. Males have a horny spur that they can emit venom from while fighting, which is strong enough to kill small animals and cause intense pain to a human.
Their bill is flexible and it is covered in electroreceptors and mechanoreceptors that respond to electrical and tactile stimuli. Their tail is broad and flat and is used to aid swimming and to store fat reserves, an adaptation it shares with the tasmanian devil.
They rest in their burrows during the day and they are mainly active at night. They are excellent swimmers and they spend most of their time in the water. They can close their nostrils, eyes and ears to prevent water from entering them when they dive below the surface.
Platypuses are known to emit a low growl if they are disturbed and several other vocalizations have been herd being emitted from captive animals.
Habitat
Duck-Billed Platypuses are found in the lakes, streams and rivers of eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania.
They build their burrows in banks, with the entrance being approximately 30 cms (12 inches) above the surface of the water.
Duck-Billed Platypuses have territories of up to 7 kms (4.4 miles) and the territory of a male will overlap with the territories of 3 - 4 females.
Diet
The diet of a Duck-Billed Platypus mainly consists of invertebrates that live on the bottom of lakes, rivers or streams. Occasionally they will also eat fish, insects or frogs. They use their bill to navigate through murky water to locate their food.
Breeding
Duck-Billed Platypuses breed between July and October. Mating occurs under water and after a gestation period of approximately 2 - 3 weeks 2, occasionally 3, soft shelled eggs are laid. The female curls herself around her eggs and incubates them for approximately 10 days.
When the young hatch they are blind and hairless and they feed only from their mother's milk. Females lack teats and instead milk is secreted from pores in the skin. The young are able to lap up her milk from the pools that collect in the grooves of her abdomen.
The young Platypuses emerge from the burrow when they reach approximately 4 months old. Females are thought to become sexually mature in their second year.
Predators
The main predators of Duck-Billed Platypuses are snakes, water rats, monitor lizards, hawks, owls and eagles.
Subspecies
There are no subspecies of the Duck-Billed Platypus.
Interesting Facts
Duck-Billed Platypus are also known as:
Platypus
Duck Bill
Watermole
Duckmole
Duck-Billed Platypuses have one of the lowest body temperatures of any mammal, being around 30°c
A Duck-Billed Platypus is featured on the reverse of an Australian 20 cent coin.
The Duck-Billed Platypus is one of the few venomous mammals.
There is no universally agree plural for Platypus, the following are examples of some that are used:
Platypus
Platypuses
Platypi
Platypoda
Platypus is Latin derived from the Greek words "Platys" and "Pous" meaning "Flat Foot" |
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This article is a brief introduction to the platypus, and to arguments that some young-earth creationists have made about it.
The platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus is one of the most unusual of living creatures. It is a mammal which has fur and suckles its young, but it also lays eggs, has webbed feet, a bill that looks like that of a duck, and a tail resembling that of a beaver. Males have a poisonous spur on their hind legs which can cause excruciating pain to humans and kill dogs. The platypus and three species of echidna (also known as spiny anteaters) are the only living members of a group of animals called monotremes. Platypuses (or platypi) are small animals; the largest ever found was 5 lbs and just over 2 feet (610 mm) in length. Usually they are only about 1.5 feet (460 mm) in length.
In general, the platypus has a fascinating mixture of reptilian and mammalian features. Mammalian traits include fur and mammary glands. Reptilian traits include the laying of eggs, and a common rectal and urinogenital opening, or cloaca (hence 'monotreme', Latin for 'single hole'). There are a number of skeletal features of the pectoral girdle that are found only in therapsids, extinct mammal-like reptiles thought to be ancestral to mammals. This mixture is even found at the cellular level; the chromosomes and sperm of platypuses display both reptilian and mammalian traits. (Griffiths, 1988)
However the platypus is not a "living fossil", since it does not closely resemble the primitive mammals from which it evolved. It has many specialized features which have evolved since the monotreme lineage separated from that of the other mammals.
The Fossil Record
Following is a list of the platypus fossils found to date. Unfortunately it is quite a short list, as the Australian fossil record is not particularly rich.
In 1971, two fossil platypus teeth were discovered in the Tirari Desert in South Australia. They are about 25 million years old, and have been named Obdurodon insignis. The modern platypus has only vestigial teeth which are replaced by horny pads when it is still a juvenile. The fossil teeth are similar enough to these vestigial teeth to allow identification, and they show that ancient platypuses had teeth as adults.
Since then, central Australia has produced a few more isolated teeth, a fragment of a lower jaw, and a part of a pelvis.
In 1984, an opalised jaw fragment with three teeth in place, belonging to either a platypus or a platypus-like monotreme, was discovered at Lightning Ridge in New South Wales. This fossil was 110 million years old, and is named Steropodon galmani (Archer, Flannery, Ritchie, & Molnar, 1985). It was the first known mammal from the Mesozoic (the Age of Dinosaurs) in Australia. It may have been the largest mammal from the Cretaceous period anywhere in the world, although it is less than twice the size of the modern platypus.
A few fossil teeth were discovered in 1984 at the Riversleigh site in Queensland. This was followed in 1985 by a spectacular find: an almost complete skull of a fossil platypus about 15 to 20 million years old. This has been named Obdurodon dicksoni (Archer, Jenkins, Hand, Murray, & Godthelp. 1992; Archer, Hand, & Godthelp, 1994). Its skull is more generalized, and about 25% longer, than that of the modern platypus. Some other fossils, including a partial lower jaw, have since been discovered at Riversleigh.
In 1991 and 1992, Obdurodon-like teeth were discovered in Argentina in strata dated to 61-63 million years old. They have been named Monotrematum sudamericanum (Archer, 1995). South America, like Australia, was once part of the super-continent of Gondwana, and this find shows that platypuses existed in other parts of Gondwana besides Australia.
What do Creationists say?
Scott Huse (1983) starts his discussion of the platypus by saying:
"Evolutionists insist that the duck-billed platypus is an evolutionary link between mammals and birds."
This quote in itself is enough to show how abysmal Huse's knowledge of evolution is. Evolutionists say nothing of the sort. Anyone who reads any evolutionary literature, even at a basic level, will quickly find out that birds are thought to have evolved from dinosaurs in the Jurassic about 150 million years ago, and that mammals are thought to have evolved from a reptile-like group of animals called the therapsids in the Triassic about 220 million years ago. No competent evolutionist has ever claimed that platypuses are a link between birds and mammals.
Huse may believe that the platypus is thought to be a link between mammals and birds because of its "duckbill". In fact, scientists have always known that the bill has nothing in common with that of a duck except for the shape. The bill of a duck is a hard keratin structure, while that of the platypus is a soft flexible organ packed with electrical and touch sensors. While underwater, the bill is used to explore the environment and find food. (Thus Huse also gets it wrong when he says the the platypus "uses echo location like dolphins"; it does not.)
Huse offers three reasons why the platypus should not be considered a transitional form:
"1. Platypus fossils are exactly the same as modern forms."
Since the most important platypus fossils were found after Huse wrote his book in 1983, one can only wonder what fossils he is referring to. It seems unlikely, given the general level of scholarship of his book, that Huse would have known of the few obscure platypus fossils that had been found at the time (1983). If he did, it should have been apparent that his statement was not only wrong, but the exact opposite of the truth: in the only feature in which they could then be compared, fossil and modern platypuses were significantly different, since the fossil forms were toothed.
As for the rest of the body, Huse's statement is totally unsupported. It would be reasonable to guess that fossil and modern forms might have differed elsewhere in the body, and later finds have confirmed this, at least for the head.
"2. The complex structures of the egg and milk glands are always fully developed and offer no solution as to the origin and development of the womb or milk glands."
The platypus shows its transitional nature here, since the reproductive system is more reptilian than mammalian, while the mammary glands are typically mammalian, except for their large size and the fact that the nipples are non-erectile and covered with hair. Although Huse implies otherwise, platypuses do have a uterus, in which two of the three layers of the shells of their eggs are deposited. (Griffiths, 1988)
"3. The more typical mammals are found in much lower [older] strata than the egg-laying platypus." (Huse, 1983)
Presumably, Huse believes that as a 'primitive' mammal, platypuses should be found far back in the fossil record. When Huse wrote, it was true that the known fossil platypuses were not as old as many other more modern mammals, but this was hardly a problem for evolution. The obvious explanation, that older fossil platypuses existed but had not yet been found, turned out to be the correct one. Steropodon, at 110 million years, is far older than any modern types of mammals. (A second edition of Huse's book was published in 1993, but the section on the platypus is virtually unchanged, and does not refer to any of the more recent finds.)
Doolan et al. (1986) make the following statements about the platypus:
"What about the history of the platypus? Where did it come from? Why is it only found in Australia? All fossils found of it are essentially the same as today's living creatures. It certainly shows no signs of evolution. Its only significant change seems to have been to lose some teeth and shrink in size." (Doolan, Mackay, Snelling, & Hallby, 1986)
Not true; there are other differences between the modern platypus and the skull of Obdurodon dicksoni than size. Archer et al.(1992) list over 20 differences between them. Also, it would be more accurate to say "all teeth" than "some teeth", since the modern form has no teeth as an adult.
"Indeed, evolutionary scientists are baffled about the ancestry of the platypus."
This is not a problem for evolution, since it is clear that any bafflement is due mainly to a shortage of evidence. Actually, similarities with other fossil mammals do give at least some hints to the ancestry of monotremes (Archer, Jenkins, Hand, Murray, & Godthelp, 1992; Kielan-Jaworowska, Crompton, & Jenkins, Jr, 1987)
"They openly admit that nothing is known about its history that can explain its geographical distribution."
Since the platypus is found on only a part of one continent, it is not clear what facts about its geographical distribution are in need of explanation. All monotremes and almost all marsupials are found on a continent which has, except for bats and rodents, no native placental mammals. The evolutionary explanation for this is that placental mammals were not able to get established in Australia before it separated from the other continents, and the distinctive Australian fauna developed from the primitive mammals that lived on Australia at that time. This explains very well why Australia contains almost all living monotremes and marsupials, but has almost no native placental mammals.
The creationist explanation for this unusual distribution is that
"If [platypuses] were on the Ark they obviously swam and walked here from Mt. Ararat. This would have taken years, even centuries. The platypuses could have used any land bridges that existed between Asia and Australia as a result of the drastic lowering of sea level during the ice age subsequent to the flood." (Doolan, Mackay, Snelling, & Hallby, 1986)
Not only platypuses, but all the other marsupials and monotremes would be required to make the same journey, without leaving any evidence of it, either fossil or living, in Asia. Platypuses are, to put it mildly, not well adapted for trekking across Asia. At the same time as this remarkable mass migration of marsupials and monotremes took place, we are expected to believe that not a single placental mammal species from the rich fauna of Indonesia chose to cross these hypothetical land bridges, even though many Indonesian mammals are large and highly mobile. Finally geological evidence strongly indicates that there has never been any land bridge between Australia and Indonesia and the fact that the two countries have totally different faunas confirms it. Sea levels did lower during the ice ages, but never enough to connect Asia and Australia.
The other problem with this "explanation" is that it is ad hoc and explains nothing at all: no matter how animals are distributed, creationists can claim that they just happened to migrate to their existing locations. If a mass migration from Ararat had occurred, animals might be expected to be distributed at random; there is certainly no obvious reason to expect closely related animals to tend to be found in close proximity. By contrast, Darwin devoted two chapters of "The Origin of Species" to showing how the distribution of animals was consistent with an evolutionary history.
Continuing on from "They openly admit ... geographical distribution", Doolan et al. say:
"But then, all they had to go on until 1984 were two teeth, a jaw fragment, a hip- bone from the deserts of north-eastern South Australia, and a skull from north- western Queensland, over 1, 200 kilometers [750 miles] away. Evolutionists said these fossil platypus fragments weren't useful, since they were merely 15 million years old."
Doolan et al. appear to be a bit confused here. The skull mentioned above must be the Riversleigh skull, which was found in 1985, after the fossil they are about to introduce, and is a much more complete and informative fossil (although not nearly as old).
"In 1984, however, a platypus jaw with three large teeth was found among a collection of opalised bones at Lightning Ridge in northern New South Wales, and pronounced to be at least 110 million years old. Naturally, evolutionist scientists were excited. It seemed that they had now established the platypus's great antiquity. Before that discovery, they believed no land mammal had been found in Australia in sediments dated older than 23 million years."
"But this platypus jaw did not help the evolutionists discover how the platypus had evolved. The new jaw was bigger than that of the present-day platypus and had larger teeth. If anything, it showed that today's platypus has degenerated since the time of its ancestor." (Doolan, Mackay, Snelling, & Hallby, 1986)
The new fossils do give important information about platypus evolution, indicating that it evolved from a larger toothed form. The statement about "larger teeth" is misleading, since the modern platypus has no teeth at all as an adult. That modern platypuses are smaller than their ancestors is no evidence of degeneration, since small creatures can be just as complex as large ones.
In summary, the features of the living platypus, and the evidence available from its scanty fossil record, are both consistent with the idea that it has evolved from primitive mammals which still had many reptilian characteristics. |
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After mating, Mother Duck-billed Platypus digs her nest at the river’s edge, just above the water’s surface. With her thick nails, She makes her nesting burrow. Mother Duck-billed Platypus lines her burrow with leaves and grass. There She lays two eggs (the size of marbles) and snugly holds Them between her tail and belly. While She incubates her Eggs, Mother Duck-billed Platypus does not leave her nest. In about two weeks, the eggs hatch, and her Puggles (babies) make their way through their mother’s fur to nurse.
Once thought to be a hoax, Duck-billed Platypus proves that improbable things can be true. An effective hunter, He uses his extraordinary rubbery beak to find Worms and Snails at the river’s bottom. With his flexible body, Duck-billed Platypus squeezes through narrow spaces to get to Snails. He demonstrates that even an active imagination can pale when compared to reality.
Platypus’s Teachings Also Include:
“We now know it’s real
Though I can’t help but feel
That from trail tip to muzzle,
It is still a puzzle.
Copyright: R. Suahan, “The Incomplete Book of Australian Mammals”.
“The platypus continues to lead its quiet life in the rivers of eastern Australia. Rippling its way in a thousand streams on far mountain slopes, in creeks and reservoirs, near towns and cities, it remains private and illusive. A new century for the platypus has arrived. Wonder remains, and delight. Swimming and diving quietly across time, the platypus smiles.” Copyright: Ann Proyal, “Platypus” |
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My animal is the duck billed platypus. The scientific name is Ornithorhynchus Anatinusacropus. It's named "duck billed" because it has a beak like a duck. "Platypus" comes from two Greek words. "Platys" means broad and flat. "Pous" means feet. And it does have broad, flat feet!
The platypus is a mammal, but a very weird mammal. Like all mammals, the platypus has a backbone. It's a mammal because it has fur and it gives milk to it's babies. It doesn't give birth to live young like most mammals. It lays eggs like a bird or a reptile. A mammal that does this is called a monotreme. The platypus is one of only two monotremes in the world. It can live in and out of water like an amphibian, but it's still a mammal.
The platypus can't see very well. So, you might think that most platypi would go hungry most of the time. Well, if you think that, you're wrong. They have electro-sensitive bills. That means that they can sense electricity waves coming from their prey's muscle movements. Then they can find crayfish, snails, shrimp, earthworms, mealworms, mayflies, dragonflies, mussels, trout eggs, tadpoles, small frogs, and fish, some of their favorite dishes. They sometimes keep some of their food in pouches in their mouths.
Venomous Spur
The platypus has a couple of ways to protect itself. If it's on land and an animal wants to attack it, it will jump into the water to escape. It also has a poisonous spur on it's back toe that connects to a venom gland. If it's in danger, it will stick the predator with that sharp back toe. It's venom is so strong that it can kill a dog.
The platypus lives in freshwater creeks, rivers, and lakes in eastern Australia. It likes slow-moving rivers and likes the water level to be at least 3 to 6 feet deep. There are two different kinds of nests that the duck billed platypus makes. Either the male or female can make one kind of nest. Only the female can make the other kind. She will first make a tunnel about 1 or 2 feet deep right above the water. Then she will make a nesting chamber inside the tunnel. This is where she will lay her eggs. In the winter, she will use some dirt to cover up the opening to keep her and her babies warm.
The platypus has fur for a body covering. It has fur everywhere on it’s body except on it’s bill and feet. The fur is water-proof so that the skin under the fur won’t get wet. It also helps the platypus live through very cold weather. The fur is colored from dark brown to a dirty yellow.
The platypus is definitely a predator. As I said before, the platypus eats many different kinds of underwater animals. It is also prey. Foxes, birds of prey, and crocodiles sometimes will eat platypi. Humans used to hunt them for their fur-covered skin, but they are now protected because they almost became extinct.
The platypus uses camouflage. As I said before, it’s fur is colored from a dark brown to a dirty yellow. Those colors help to camouflage the platypus to hide from predators. The colors help the platypus because a dirty yellow is the color of the sand on the shore and at the bottom of lakes and streams. And brown platypi can hide in brownish water and dried leaves.
Baby platypi have a partly grown-in set of teeth that they don’t use very much because they lick milk from their mother’s tummy. But when platypi get older, they lose their teeth! The teeth are replaced by horny plates. They use them to eat instead of teeth. The teeth are flat when platypi are small and when they grow up, the horny plates are flat on the edges. The flat edges of the horny plates are good for grinding up hard pieces of their food.
Baby Platypus
During the cooler months in Australia, the platypus semi-hibernates. That means it doesn’t go into hibernation all winter. It only hibernates for very short periods of time. The longest recorded hibernation was 6 ½ days. Hibernation is one of the ways a platypus adapts to it’s environment.
There are many differences between baby and adult platypi. A baby platypus has teeth and an adult platypus has horny plates. A grown platypus has a lot of fur and a baby has practically no fur. The babies are smaller than the adults. But after a while, the babies start to grow fur. When the babies are about a year old, they lose their teeth and grow horny plates. While all this is happening, the duck billed platypi are growing. By the time they’re two years old, they are fully mature.
The platypus makes a different kind of noise, or call. People say the call sounds like a growling puppy or an angry hen. Young platypi use the call to find playmates. Adult platypi use it to contact neighbors. |
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It has happened! Evolutionary scientists rejoice!
A creature has been discovered that connects all the pieces and is truly the “missing link.” While similar stories have ended in disappointment many times before, this is finally the one!
No longer will these experts be peppered with constant questions: Why are there so many gaps in the fossil record? Why do we not see transitional animals today? When did birds, reptiles and mammals evolve from a common ancestor? How exactly did it happen?
Day after day, evolutionists are faced with seemingly insurmountable hurdles. But this ground-breaking discovery has solved their woes.
This time the discovery is not just a bone fragment, or partial fossil—as is often the case—it is a living, breathing creature. It has the features of a reptile, bird and mammal—all in one small, furry package.
The search for proof is over!
This likely was the thinking of evolutionists when they first applied the theory to the duck-billed platypus.
But the mammal’s story began much earlier in 1798, when an artist’s sketch and pelt were sent from Australia to Great Britain describing an exceptional new find. The description was so extraordinary that, when the specimen reached Britain, it was immediately dismissed as a fraud.
Researchers were convinced this was an elaborate hoax by an Asian taxidermist. One scientist actually used scissors to attempt to locate the stitches attaching the supposed duck’s bill to the furry mammalian body.
Much to the embarrassment of the scientists, this remarkable creature was determined to be real. In time, it became a darling of evolutionists.
Yet, as the creature was studied, researchers found it possessed some surprising attributes. With the passing of time, they were continually baffled by this mammal—as are scientists today.
Truly Unique
The platypus looks like no other creature on Earth. Physically, it appears to be a hybrid blend of a bird, beaver, reptile and otter, with additional characteristics not contained in any of these four!
On cursory examination, the platypus has a bill that most resembles that of a waterfowl, not the mouth of any known mammal. Yet it is not an ordinary bill. It is actually a well-designed sensory organ. Not a nose, but a highly sensitive electrolocation sensor, detecting miniscule electrical impulses generated by its food source of small crustaceans and worms. No other mammal has a sensor so highly developed—in fact, only one other mammal has this ability at all.
Then there are the webbed feet, similar to those found on otters. Unlike an otter, however, the webbing is far more pronounced on the front feet of the platypus, which it uses like paddles for swimming. While in the water, the back feet are tucked into its body and hardly used at all.
Another pronounced platypus attribute is its beaver-like tail. As with its other features, upon closer inspection, there are as many differences as similarities. A beaver’s tail is covered in scales, is flattened, and propels the rodent through the water when swimming. On the other hand, the tail of the platypus is covered in fur and is used more in the way a rudder might guide a boat. Once again, initial appearances are deceiving.
Additionally, this remarkable creature does something almost unheard of in the mammalian class. It lays eggs! On first inspection the eggs appear reptilian, but internally are structured more like those of a bird. However, unlike the process in both birds and reptiles, platypus embryos spend a much longer time in the mother. For instance, chickens lay eggs roughly 24 hours after fertilization, while a platypus waits 28 days. Their eggs spend nearly twice as long developing inside the female’s body as outside.
If you were pitted against a platypus in a street fight, you would want to avoid two sharp heel spurs found behind its hind feet. Not only could these spurs pierce your skin, but they could also inject a nasty surprise.
Male (and only male) platypuses are able to inject a protein-based toxin strong enough to kill a dog and incapacitate an adult man. When inflicted, the wound rapidly swells with fluid and becomes extremely painful. The victim experiences a heightened sense of pain that can last for days—or even months. The platypus is one of few mammals with venom strong enough to affect a human. The particular toxin contains three proteins unique to the platypus.
Characteristics that initially made evolutionists excited about the platypus are vastly different from what was expected and so seemingly unconnected that scientists are left perplexed to this day.
Evolutionary Quandary
The platypus poses some interesting problems for evolutionary scientists. Here is a creature that appears to be right in the middle of a supposed evolutionary transition, yet fossils dated to millions of years ago look almost identical to the modern animal.
If the platypus is a transitional specimen, why did it seemingly stop evolving? Why has it remained virtually unchanged for its entire existence?
Even the minor changes are disappointing to scientists, as they could more aptly be considered de-evolution. For instance, the fossilized adult platypus had functioning teeth. Yet modern platypuses lose their teeth at an early age, leaving only a horned plate with which to grind and mash their food to a pulp, prior to swallowing.
Hardly advancement at all!
Further, consider the watery environment in which a platypus survives—in fact, thrives. (When a platypus is removed from its natural habitat, its lifespan is greatly abbreviated.)
As with many other mammals, it has eyes, ears and a nose. All three are fully functioning and would serve a platypus well if it spent much time on land. On the other hand, its heavily webbed front feet mean that it is forced to walk on its knuckles, or risk damaging the somewhat fragile webbing. In the water, the beauty of the animal’s design becomes apparent. It maneuvers gracefully with speed and precision while foraging for food.
Though it spends the majority of its time in water, the platypus never evolved an ability to hold its breath for very long, typically no more than 30 seconds. How is it that an animal living primarily in the water for “millions” of years still cannot hold its breath for more than half a minute?
Imagine the hypothetical evolutionary path of this extraordinary creature. Suppose there was a time before all of the animal’s features were fully formed. (The fossil record demonstrates no such instance.) These early platypuses would have had no webbed feet or electrolocation system. Instead of gliding skillfully through the water, this poor animal would have flailed about, with no method to navigate or find food. (Yet, somehow, over millions of years, it would have managed to survive drowning, starvation and predators.)
Over time, the platypus would have “decided” that webbed feet were needed, and evolved a version unlike that of any other creature. Then, instead of its eyes, nose and ears adapting to work underwater, it evolved a device that looks like a duck’s bill, but instead is the most advanced electrolocation system found on any mammal.
Given this unlikely scenario, this must have happened another way. The fossil record indicates that the platypus appeared fully formed, with all of its “adaptations” perfectly balanced.
There is only one explanation for how so many separate, seemingly disparate, component parts of the platypus could come together in a final product that functions so well. It would take a plan before the platypus existed, millennia ago.
The same Creator who is responsible for the complexity of the entire universe—and all life therein—also created this marvelous animal.
The thinking person, however, wants proof of a Creator—and understandably so. Often, it is at this point that evolutionists think they have the upper hand. They claim to hold to reason, logic, and “just the facts.” When pushed, most people who believe in God will say they can offer no proof, and simply “have faith” that He exists.
The platypus, on its own, does not prove the existence of an all-powerful God, but it adds more evidence to the case. Once compiled and carefully considered, it leads to the only obvious conclusion.
Think: if God created the entire universe, placed mankind on Earth, and then expected all to obey Him—would He not also offer absolute proof that He exists? The duck-billed platypus does not need to be a mystery, nor does the existence of the God who created it. You can know for certain!
Evolutionists and atheists often claim science proves God does not exist, but this is not true! Rock solid evidence for God’s existence is found among the varied fields of biology, astronomy, chemistry and mathematics. |
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he platypus has a flat, streamlined body. They have a muzzle shaped like the bill of a duck, webbed feet, and a tail like that of a beaver. The bill is not hard like that of a bird. It is actually an elongated muzzle covered with a leathery skin. The bill and feet of a platypus are black while the fur is usually a dark brown color. The platypus also possesses a spur on it hind legs that can be used to inject venom into another creature. In man this usually causes agonizing pain but can be fatal to smaller creatures. The platypus forages for food by diving underwater for up to 1.5 minutes and searching for food. While underwater, it stores any food it finds in cheek pouches. On surfacing, it sorts out what it found and eats it. When searching for food, the platypus is relying solely on its electrically sensitive bill to find food. The bill of a platypus can detect small electrical currents put out by the creatures that it eats. The platypus is a strong swimmer though not very fast. It swims by alternating movements of its front feet only. When out of the water, the webbing folds between its toes. The fur of the platypus is some of the most waterproof in the animal kingdom and the tail is used to store fat.
The platypus eats insect larvae as well as freshwater shrimp, bivalve mollusks, frogs and fish eggs.
The platypus is found in Eastern Australia in freshwater streams and rivers. Platypus live in burrows that they dig along the banks of streams and rivers that they use as a food source.
Hawks, eagles, owls, crocodiles, water-rats, pythons, goannas, foxes, dogs, and cats make up the predators of the platypus.
The platypus is primarily nocturnal. It is also a solitary animal and usually only comes together to mate (although you can often find several animals in the same general area.) During mating season, it is not unusual for male platypuses to become very aggressive. However, the platypus is usually a shy and wary animal.
The platypus is one of only two mammals that do not give birth to live young but lays eggs instead (the other is the echidna.) After birth, the young live on milk provided by the mother. However, the platypus does not have nipples. Instead, glands along the side of the mother secrete milk and the young platypus will lap it up. After six weeks the young have fur and may leave the nest for short periods. They are weaned by five months old.
The platypus has an electro-sensitive bill. They also have excellent senses of sight and hearing. |
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If you need evidence that God - or Evolution - has a sense of humour, look no further than the duck-billed platypus.
The oddest creature ever to grace on the planet, the platypus lays eggs like a bird, produces milk like a cow and releases snake-like venom from its ankles.
A cross between a beaver and a duck, it has the tail of a beaver, the webbed feet of an otter and an enormous bird-like bill.
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The duck-billed Platypus has puzzled scientists ever since its discovery 200 years ago
Ever since it was discovered by bemused European explorers in Australia 200 years ago, the mammal has fascinated schoolchildren and baffled scientists.
Now, in a move that is shedding light on the evolution of the platypus and all mammals, including humans, scientists have decoded its DNA for the first time.
The findings confirm that the species is a cobbled together mix of reptile, bird and mammal and could even lead to the development of new drugs base on chemicals in the creature's milk and venom.
Duck-billed platypuses are one of only one five mammals that lay eggs.
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Scientists have unlocked the DNA behind the Australian mammal, which lays eggs and suckles its young, for the first time
They live in Australia, are around 20 inches long, are covered with brown fur and have a beaver-like tail, otter-like webbed feet and duck-like bill.
They are so peculiar looking that when the first stuffed platypus was brought to England in 1798, sceptics insisted that a hoaxer had sewn a duck bill onto a mammal's body.
They are excellent swimmers, but move cumbersomely and comically on land. They use their sensitive bills to detect the tiny electrical signals from crabs and shrimps at the bottom of rivers and lakes.
Their claws are sharp and strong, while males have a poisonous spur on their rear ankles which can be used in self defence or in fighting off rival males.
Females lay two or three eggs the size of grapes at the end of a long burrow lined with grass. The young hatch after 10 to 12 days and then feed on their mother's milk for five months before leaving home.
The sequencing of its genetic code gives scientists the chance to discover new genes, and work out how humans and other mammals evolved. It could also lead to new drugs.
The creature's milk contains antimicrobial chemicals which protect young from infection.
Dr Kathy Belov, from the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney co-author on the Nature paper, said: "We identified 20 new antimicrobial peptides in the platypus genome and are now testing them to see which bugs they kill."
The study found that platypus venom is a cocktail of chemicals - including some found in snake venom, even though the two creatures evolved independently. Research into the creatures' venom could also lead to new painkillers, the scientists say.
Past studies suggested that they are an early offshoot of the mammal family tree that broke away 170 million years ago - during the time of the dinosaurs.
The new study was carried out by 115 scientists. They included British researchers at the Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Unit in Oxford who analysed the DNA blueprint of a female platypus nicknamed Glennie.
They found 18, 500 separate genes, similar to the number in other mammals.
The team discovered that its peculiar characteristics were mirrored by a patchwork of genes resembling those from mammals, birds and reptiles.
The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Nature{KEEP}, also found that the creatures reproduce more like birds than mammals.
Mammals, such as humans, have two sex chromosomes that determine gender. The platypus has 10.
Dr Chris Ponting, of the MRC unit at Oxford, said: "The platypus genome is extremely important because it is the missing link in our understanding of how we and other mammals first evolved.
"This is our ticket back in time to when all mammals laid eggs while suckling their young on milk. It also provides an essential background to future advances in understanding mammalian biology and evolution."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-564748/Its-bird-beaver---actually-duck-billed-platypus-scientists-decode-DNA-time.html#ixzz1XBdEfuT7 |
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