![]() As if this wasn’t enough, scientists discovered last year that platypus fur is biofluorescent, glowing a brilliant blue-green when illuminated by ultraviolet light.Ī paper published in February by her colleague Gilad Bino, projects that nearly three-fourths of platypuses could vanish over the next 50 years if climate change continues to worsen as predicted.Ĭlimate change is predicted to increase the frequency and intensity of droughts as well as heighten the risk of bushfires, like the ones that scorched Australia in 2019 and the beginning of 2020. ![]() Moreover, platypuses don’t have stomachs-their gullets lead directly to their intestines-and they have 10 sex chromosomes to our measly two. (Recently their venom was also found to contain a hormone that might help treat diabetes.) They’re also one of only a few venomous mammals: Male platypuses have poisonous spurs that can cause as much pain as hundreds of hornet stings. Along with the four species of echidnas, they’re the only mammals that lay eggs. Two centuries later, the platypus continues to astound scientists. Though he eventually accepted the platypus as authentic, at first he wondered whether someone had stitched various creatures together as a joke. It was as though someone had taken the webbed feet and bill of a duck and jammed them on to the torso of a fuzzy four-legged mammal. This can affect the platypus's ability to maintain body temperature and to hunt properly for food on the bottom of rivers and creeks.Looking at the animal skin that had been shipped to him in England from Australia, George Shaw, the keeper of the natural history collection at the British Museum at the turn of the 19 th century, was dumbfounded. Affected animals often develop skin lesions or ulcers, and the biggest threat to their survival arises from secondary infection. ![]() Tasmanian platypuses are subject to a disease caused by the fungus Mucor amphibiorum, which has fortunately not migrated to the mainland. They have disappeared from South Australia. The platypus is vulnerable because of habitat loss through deforestation, dams and irrigation projects. Platypuses are now strictly protected by law. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the platypus as "least concern". The Australian Government lists the platypus as " common but vulnerable". The use of fishing nets is still something of a problem, even though it is illegal now to use fishing nets in freshwater rivers and creeks, as the platypuses can become entangled. However, there are concerns regarding the destruction of their habitat and awareness of this problem is increasing. In the past it came closer to extinction but it now has protection by law in the National Parks and Wildlife Act of 1974 (from hunters and fishermen), and the population has grown back to a healthy size. There was a time when the platypus was under threat, being particularly prized for its fur years ago. It is not listed on the IUCN Redlist (endangered species list). The platypus, although found only in the country of Australia (which includes the island state of Tasmania) is notendangered.
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