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Duck Billed Platypus

Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Shaw 1799)

2008 California Academy of Sciences   cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Duck Billed Platypus) is a species of mammals in the family platypus. They are listed as near threatened by IUCN. They are associated with freshwater habitat. They are native to Oceania continent (Australia, NZ and islands). They are solitary, crepuscular herbivores. Individuals are known to live for 264 months and can grow to 419.18 mm. They have parental care (female provides care). They rely on swimming and drag powered swimming to move around.

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  • URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/drag_based_swimming
  • Definition: Drag swimmers use a cyclic motion where they push water back in a power stroke, and return their limb forward in the return or recovery stroke. When they push water directly backwards, this moves their body forward, but as they return their limbs to the starting position, they push water forward, which will thus pull them back to some degree, and so opposes the direction that the body is heading. This opposing force is called drag. The return-stroke drag causes drag swimmers to employ different strategies than lift swimmers. Reducing drag on the return stroke is essential for optimizing efficiency.
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EOL has data for 69 attributes, including:

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Duck-billed Platypus. View this species on GBIF