Classifying the Platypus
- Domain: Eukarya. The Platypus has Eukaryotic cells with membrane bound organelles.
- Kingdom: Animalia. The Platypus responds to stimuli and are multicelluar organisms.
- Phylum: Chordata. The Platypus has a ventral nerve cord, pharyngeal slits and a tail. ...
- Class: Mammalia. The Platypus produces milk for the young through mammary glands like all mammals. ...
What can we learn from classification and the platypus?
Classification and the platypus tells us that we shouldn’t do it more than we have to. People love classifying. Taking things that are all different from each other and putting them in buckets. In business consumers are divided into good and bad prospects.
When was the platypus first described?
( Shaw 1799, p. 384) Three years later, the Göttingen anatomist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, who is famous for his discoveries of mammoths and crinoids (an extinct class of echinoderms), described the platypus from a second skin sent by Hunter. Blumenbach named the animal Ornithorhynchus paradoxus (paradoxical bird-snout; Blumenbach 1803 ).
Why do scientists think the platypus is not a mammal?
Scientists Didn’t Think The Platypus Was A Real Animal At First. The platypus, AKA, God’s little mistake is one of the only a few mammals on Earth known to lay eggs, however most people find it weird not because it lays eggs, but because it looks like a beaver someone hastily glued a duck bill to.
What family does the platypus belong to?
Family: Ornithorhynchidae. The Platypus is the sole survivor of the whole family of the Ornithorhynchidae. They are characterized by having the duck-bill, a flat tail for swimming and have hard plates in the mouth, instead of teeth.
How was the platypus classified?
The Platypus is a unique Australian species. Along with echidnas, Platypuses are grouped in a separate order of mammals known as monotremes, which are distinguished from all other mammals because they lay eggs.
Why did scientists decide to classify the platypus as a mammal?
The platypus is classed as a mammal because it has fur and feeds its young with milk. It flaps a beaver-like tail.
What do scientists know about the platypus?
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.
Why is it hard to classify platypus?
The platypus is hard to classify because it is part mammal and part reptile. It lays eggs, just like reptiles do, but it has fur and he is warm-blooded. It is part of two of the families of mammals that lay eggs (monotremes).
How do scientists use classification?
Scientists classify living things in order to organize and make sense of the incredible diversity of life. Modern scientists base their classifications mainly on molecular similarities. They group together organisms that have similar proteins and DNA. Molecular similarities show that organisms are related.
How did platypuses evolve?
Mammal-like reptiles diverged from the lineage they shared with birds and reptiles about 280 million years ago. Around 80 million years later, the monotremes—or egg-laying mammals—split off from the mammalian lineage, says Rebecca Young, a biologist at the University of Texas at Austin.
What animal has 800 stomachs?
Etruscan shrewPhylum:ChordataClass:MammaliaOrder:EulipotyphlaFamily:Soricidae11 more rows
Was a platypus created in a lab?
Ito, R. et al. A rogue government genetic lab that engineered the platypus is reportedly contemplating when, if ever, their chaotic creation will be traced back to them. Despite the general public's acceptance that the egg-laying monstrosity evolved naturally, the group fears their discovery may be inevitable.
What is the scientific name of a platypus?
Ornithorhynchus anatinusPlatypus / Scientific nameThe platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) has a puzzling array of features. Not only does it have that iconic duck bill, it lays eggs like a bird or reptile but feeds milk to its young like a mammal.
What are the 7 classifications of platypus?
ClassificationKingdom: Animalia.Phylum: Chordata.Class: Mammalia (Linnaeus, 1758) — mammals.Order: Monotremata (Bonaparte, 1837) — monotremes (egg-laying mammals)Family: Ornithorhynchidae (Gray, 1825 sensu Burnett, 1830)Genus: Ornithorhynchus (Blumenbach, 1800)More items...•
What is an animal that starts with Q?
Quail, Quetzal, Quokka.
What do you call a baby platypus?
Baby platypuses (or would you rather call them platypi?) and echidnas are called puggles, although there's a movement afoot to have baby platypuses called platypups. In a more straightforward naming convention, baby goats are called kids. In what may be a nod to onomatopoeia, baby partridges are called cheepers.
Where is the platypus native to?
Wendy has taught high school Biology and has a master's degree in education. The platypus is a semiaquatic animal native to Australia. With a variety of unique features, it might be considered one of the most unusual animals in the world. What makes the platypus so different?
What does a platypus look like?
The platypus comes equipped with a bill like a duck's. It looks like someone removed the bill from a duck and glued it to the face of the platypus. To make it more interesting, the platypus also has webbed feet like a duck.
How many eggs do platypus lay?
Platypuses typically lay two leathery eggs at a time. They hatch about 10 days after being laid, and bean-sized babies emerge. Like other mammals, the mother platypus nurses her young. If you didn't think this creature was unusual before, this might convince you.
Where is the venom on a platypus?
It is also a highly unusual trait in a mammal. The venom is housed within stingers on the males' hind legs. Used for fighting, these stingers are not deadly but can cause severe pain. The platypus is a semiaquatic mammal native to Australia that belongs to the order Monotremata, meaning that it lays eggs.
How big is a platypus?
The platypus is a relatively small, semiaquatic mammal native to Australia. On average, a platypus measures 15 to 24 inches long. At first glance, its body might remind you of an otter as it is covered in sleek, dark fur. Its large, flat tail looks like it was borrowed from a beaver.
What are some examples of adaptations for an unusual animal?
For example, a platypus spends much of its time in the water. Its paddle-like feet make it an outstanding swimmer and diver. Its prominent tail helps it steer.
Is a furry platypus a mammal?
In terms of classification, the furry platypus is indeed a mammal. It is not just any mammal, however.
Who first described the platypus?
Frederick Nodder 's illustration from the first scientific description in 1799 of " Platypus anatinus". 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.
Where is the platypus from?
PreꞒ. The platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus ), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative of its family ( Ornithorhynchidae) and genus ( Ornithorhynchus ), though a number of related species appear in ...
How long is the largest platypus?
Judging by the tooth, the animal measured 1.3 metres long, making it the largest platypus on record. Platypus skeleton. 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.
What is the average temperature of a platypus?
The platypus has an average body temperature of about 32 °C (90 °F) rather than the 37 °C (99 °F) typical of placental mammals.
How long does it take for a platypus to recover from a dive?
Recovery at the surface between dives commonly takes from 10 to 20 seconds. 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.
What is the fur of a platypus?
The fur is waterproof, and the texture is akin to that of a mole. The platypus uses its tail for storage of fat reserves (an adaptation also found in animals such as the Tasmanian devil ). The webbing on the feet is more significant on the front feet and is folded back when walking on land.
How far can a platypus swim?
It may have a range of up to 7 km (4.3 mi), with a male's home range overlapping those of three or four females. The platypus is an excellent swimmer and spends much of its time in the water foraging for food. It has a very characteristic swimming style and no external ears.
Unusual features
Despite its odd look, the platypus is perfectly adapted to its environment. It has a furry, otter-like body, a tail the same shape as a beaver's, and a mouth reminiscent of a duck's.
How the platypus got its name
George Shaw, keeper of the natural history collections at the British Museum (which were to later become the Natural History Museum), accepted the platypus as a real animal. In 1799 he was the first to scientifically describe it, assigning it the species name Platypus anatinus, meaning flat-footed duck.
Is the platypus a mammal?
When it was discovered, the platypus was difficult to classify, bearing characteristics of mammals, reptiles and birds.
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Classifying Seems To Cheer Some People Up
People love classifying. Taking things that are all different from each other and putting them in buckets. In business consumers are divided into good and bad prospects. Even when you are measuring consumer potential effectively there is often very little difference between some consumers in each group.
Classification And The Platypus
The natural world has had many fascinating classification problems. For example, the Duck Billed Platypus seemed to present a significant problem for classification when discovered. That it is a mammal that lays eggs is pretty atypical.
Business And Classification
As a business scholar the lessons to learn from problems classifying the Platypus aren’t anything to do with biology.
Conclusion
I rewrote this a little when I saw the platypus would glow under blacklight, see here. The main conclusion remains that it is really a cool animal.
Why is it weird to see a platypus?
The platypus, AKA, God’s little mistake is one of the only a few mammals on Earth known to lay eggs, however most people find it weird not because it lays eggs, but because it looks like a beaver someone hastily glued a duck bill to. Weirdly enough, when scientists first got their hands on a platypus corpse, they didn’t actually believe it was real precisely for that reason, in fact they almost cut apart the very first stuffed specimen just to prove it.
What was the platypus specimen that Shaw was trying to hack apart with?
Shaw was so sure that the platypus specimen was fake that he immediately began trying to hack it apart with a pair of scissors he had lying around, insisting that the creature’s bill was sewn on.
Did scientists believe a platypus was real?
Weirdly enough, when scientists first got their hands on a platypus corpse, they didn’t actually believe it was real precisely for that reason, in fact they almost cut apart the very first stuffed specimen just to prove it.
Was the Platypus a hoax?
When the stuffed platypus landed on the desk of George Shaw, Shaw took one look at the adorable abomination in front of him and immediately dismissed it as a hoax, we’d like to point out that this is despite the fact that it had been sent to him by a governor and not some random asshole.
What is the significance of the discovery of the platypus?
The story of the discovery of the platypus ( Figure 1) teaches us much that is relevant to the nature of scientific evidence, orthodoxy, entrenched authority, the role of personalities in science, the slow overthrow of old mores, national rivalries, prejudices and priorities, the strictures of animal classification, what it takes to be described as a mammal, conservation, and extinction. A rivalry that pitted nation against nation, naturalist against naturalist, and professional against amateur endured for 85 years before the true nature of the platypus was revealed. Long after the evidence was wrested from Nature half a world away from where the debate raged, professional biologists continued to argue about this paradoxical creature. How did such a situation arise?
What was the debate over the anatomy of the platypus?
In the debate over the anatomy and systematic position of the platypus, national pride and supremacy were at stake. Then as now, much kudos accrued to the nation whose citizens led the scientific world. Britain was pitched against France, Englishman against Frenchman, typologist against evolutionist. Although they agreed that the duckbill was a mammal, England's representatives—Richard Owen and Home—maintained that the eggs remained within the body as in mammals, even though, at up to 17 mm in diameter, the eggs were much larger than normal mammalian eggs. Across the English Channel, France's representatives— Geoffroy and Blumenbach—insisted that the eggs were laid, as in birds and reptiles, but that platypuses represented a separate group. Meckel, Cuvier, and other Europeans maintained that platypuses were true mammals that produced live young. All saw that the key to understanding the paradoxical platypus lay in its eggs.
How long do platypuses live?
Even today, complete knowledge of the platypus breeding cycle is lacking. We know that platypuses live for something like 12 years and breed for almost their entire life span— there is one report of a lactating female who is at least 11 years old. Still, after almost 200 years, there is no record that anyone has ever seen an egg being laid. Caldwell did not, although it is sometimes asserted that he did. He found a female with an egg that he assumed she had laid.
When do platypus lay their eggs?
The platypus breeding season extends from July to October, depending on geographical location. From one to three eggs (two eggs, in 80% of cases) are laid in a nest at the end of a specially constructed nesting burrow.
What class are plastimus in?
Platypuses now reside in the Class Mammalia, Subclass Prototheria, Order Monotremata, and Family Ornithorhynchidae. However, in the years after their discovery, these animals were placed in an amazing range of existing taxa and had numerous taxa created especially for them.
When was the Platypus egg discovered?
For example, Geoffroy published a description of a “platypus” egg in 1929, only to realize that the egg was much too large to have passed through the female's pelvic ring.
Who supplied the specimens on which Owen based his 25 papers on the anatomy of monotremes and marsupi
Bennett supplied the specimens on which Owen based his 25 papers on the anatomy of monotremes and marsupials. Two of these papers (on kangaroo uteri and embryos in impregnated platypus; Owen 1834a, 1834b) gained Owen election to the Royal Society in 1834.
Why is it so hard to piece together a platypus family tree?
The platypus family tree has been difficult to piece together because fossils are very rare . This poster summarises the information we know about platypus fossils that have been found, including the location of the fossil site and the age of the fossils.
What is a baby platypus called?
A baby platypus is called a puggle. Platypuses have teeth when they are born, but as they mature their teeth are replaced by specialised dental pads made of keratin. Keratin is a type of protein that is also found in your fingernails. Platypuses also once lived in what is now South America.
What is the name of the mammal that lay eggs?
The Platypus is a type of egg-laying mammal called a monotreme. It is one of two species of monotreme that live in Australia, the other being the Short-beaked Echidna. The monotremes diverged from other mammals about 166 million years ago and today the platypus is one of the most evolutionarily distinct animals on Earth.
Overview
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species appear in the fossil record.
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. British scientists' initial hunch was that the attributes were a hoax. George Shaw, who produced the first description of the animal in the Naturalist's Miscellany in 1799, stated it was impossible not to entertain doubt…
Description
In David Collins's account of the new colony 1788–1801, he describes coming across "an amphibious animal, of the mole species". His account includes a drawing of the animal.
The body and the broad, flat tail of the platypus are covered with dense, brown, biofluorescent fur that traps a layer of insulating air to keep the animal warm. T…
Distribution, ecology, and behaviour
The platypus is semiaquatic, 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.
Inland, its distribution is not well known. It was considered extinct on the Sout…
Evolution
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 quasireptilian – still endure. In 1947, William King Gregory theorised that placental mammals and marsupials may have diverged earlier, and a subsequent branching divided the monotremes and marsupials, …
Conservation
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 historical abundance is unknown and its current abundance difficult to gauge, but it is assumed to have decline…
Usage by humans
Aboriginal Australians used to hunt platypuses for food (their fatty tails being particularly nutritious), while, after colonisation, Europeans hunted them for fur from the late 19th century and until 1912, when it was prohibited by law. In addition, European researchers captured and killed platypus or removed their eggs, partly in order to increase scientific knowledge, but also to gain prestige …
Cultural references
The platypus has been a subject in the Dreamtime stories of Aboriginal Australians, some of whom believed the animal was a hybrid of a duck and a water rat.
According to one story of the upper Darling River, the major animal groups, the land animals, water animals and birds, all competed for the platypus to join the…