Platypus are like the Frankenstein's monster of the animal kingdom.
The diversity of life on Earth is mind-boggling. Scientists have identified over a million different species, but they estimate that it's less than 15% of the total number of species that exist in our world. We've barely scratched the surface of what creatures we share the planet with, and yet the variety of animals we know about is absolutely wild.
Among nature's weird animals, though, one stands out at perhaps the strangest—the platypus. The famed oddity from Down Under is known for being one of the tiny handful of mammals that lay eggs, but that's only the beginning of their weird quirks. Here are five reasons platypus might just be the most anomalous animal ever.
1. British scientists thought they were a hoax
Perhaps the most telling indicator that platypus are weird is that even actual animal researchers were in disbelief when they were first introduced to them.
Around 1799, biologist George Shaw was working in the natural history department of the British Museum when he received a pelt and drawing of a mysterious creature from the continent of Australia. It appears to be part duck, part otter, and part beaver—a Frankenstein's monster of an animal, essentially—and it was so strange that Shaw and others questioned if it was even real. After cutting into the pelt in various places to look for stitches, he determined that it was not a scientific hoax but a genuinely unique species.
Drawing of a platypus from 1799Frederick Polydore Nodder (public domain)
To be fair, it genuinely does look like it's just a bunch of random animal parts all stitched together, so we can't really blame them for being skeptical.
2. They're venomous
At least the males are. Spurs on the back of male platypus feet look a bit like dog's canine tooth and contain a clear, slightly venom. If you get stung by a platypus, you won't die, but you will be in a lot of pain—worse than childbirth, according to a woman who was stung by one—that could last for weeks. The localized swelling can last for months, and if you're super lucky you'll get some muscle wasting as well. Morphine and other standard analgesics won't relieve the pain, either, but nerve-blocking drugs can help. Neat, huh?
You're not likely to be attacked or stung by a platypus, however. The main thing to remember is to never pick up a male platypus from below, as touching its belly can trigger the spur response. (Or, you know, play it safe and just don't try to pick up a platypus.)
3. They 'sweat' milk
Platypus are mammals, which means they produce milk to nurse their young. Only problem is they don't have nipples. How does that work?
Even as babies, platypus look like a weird mish-mosh of a creature.Photo credit: Canva
Specialized mammary glands produce milk that oozes from a platypus's skin, much like sweat. As aquatic animals, they don't actually sweat at all, but it's the easiest way to describe how their milk comes out. As it's secreted, it pools into creases in the platypus mother's skin, where her babies—colloquially and adorably known as puggles—lap it up from her fur.
4. They're almost completely blind and deaf when they hunt
Platypus have eyes and ears that work fine on land, but these semi-aquatic creatures hunt in the water. When they go underwater, they keep their eyes closed most of the time, and flaps covering their ears close, rendering them mostly blind and deaf. So how are they able to locate the bottom-dwelling invertebrates they feed on (insect larvae, crustaceans, worms, and mollusks) when they can't see or hear?
Platypus use electroreceptors in their bills that detect electrical fields in their prey. Waving its head back and forth in the water like a metal detector, it can sense the direction and distance of its snacks.
Platypus use electroreception to hunt.Photo credit: Canva
5. They glow under black light
Platypus are about as "boring brown" as an animal can come, which allows them to blend into their natural environment easily. However, that drab coat is hiding a fun little secret: it glows under UV light.
Biofluorescence is common among some species, but exceedingly rare among mammals. Flying squirrels and opossums were the only two mammals known to glow this way prior to the discovery that platypus do it. Black lights make platypus glow a lovely blue-green color and no one knows why. Another delightful mystery.
All of that on top of the fact that they're a monotreme—a mammal that lays eggs—one of only five species with that claim to fame. No wonder they continue to surprise researchers just by being their cute, quirky selves.
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