Platypus
Amazing fact
Platypus fur is waterproof, and its dense underfur stays dry even underwater.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Platypus fur is waterproof, and its dense underfur stays dry even underwater.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Platypus
- Scientific name
- Ornithorhynchus anatinus
- Japanese name
- カモノハシ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Monotremata
- Family
- Ornithorhynchidae
- Genus
- Ornithorhynchus
An animal of eastern and southern Australia. It is a mammal, yet it lays eggs.
Its bill-like snout senses touch and movement. It also has sensors that detect electricity, which tell it the direction and distance of its prey.
It dives underwater to catch insect larvae, shrimp, crayfish and other small animals. It stores them in its cheek pouches, then swims to the surface to eat.
How the Platypus lives
It closes its eyes and ears underwater. It moves its head from side to side as it searches for prey. Instead of teeth, it grinds food between hard pads in its mouth.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife AllianceBasic data
- Diet
- Small bottom-dwelling aquatic invertebrates
- Range
- Eastern and southern Australia
Where the Platypus has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- カモノハシ
- 简体中文
- 鸭嘴兽
- 繁體中文
- 鴨嘴獸
- 한국어
- 오리너구리
- Español
- Ornitorrinco
- Français
- Ornithorynque
- Deutsch
- Schnabeltier
- Português (Brasil)
- Ornitorrinco
- Italiano
- Ornitorinco
- हिन्दी
- प्लैटीपुस
- العربية
- خلد الماء
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Platipus
- Tiếng Việt
- Thú mỏ vịt
- Русский
- Утконос
- Türkçe
- Ornitorenk
- ไทย
- ตุ่นปากเป็ด
- বাংলা
- প্লাটিপাস
- اردو
- ڈک بل
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance — PlatypusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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