Platypus

Platypus

Popular Name: Platypus
Scientific Name: Ornithorhynchus anatinus
Geographical Distribution: Eastern Section of the island of Tasmania and Australia.
Natural Habitat: Rivers and freshwater lakes, and underground tunnels digging in the soil.
Eating habits: The platypus is carnivorous and feeds on insects, worms and freshwater crustaceans.
Size: 40 cm 13 cm longer tail.
Weight: Enough to weigh up to 4 kg.
Gestation period: The platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs. The incubation period of the eggs is 10 days.
Number of pups: 2 or 3 eggs each.
Average lifetime: 15 years
Conservation status of the species: Pollution of rivers and lakes has destroyed a significant population of platypuses.

4 curiosities about the platypus

• They are poisonous- Platypuses keep a very powerful poison claws, and the liquid is strong enough to kill a dog or cause blistering pain.

• They have extra-sensory methods to hunt- The platypus uses sensors that detect electrical vibrations that captures the movements of their prey.

• Even being a mammal, the platypus does not have nipples. Milk is secreted by glands and released through these pores, which the pup must lick. A very unorthodox way.

• It is one of the only mammals that lay eggs.

Dingo

- Dingo -

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order : Carnivora

Family: Canidae

Genus : Canis

Species : C. lupus

Subspecies : C. liter. dingo

( Canis lupus dingo ) is a subspecies of wolf, as well as the domestic dog originated in Asia and is currently in the wild in Australia and Southeast Asia . The origin of Dingos remains uncertain but is believed to result from an early domestication of the wolf. Dingoes weigh between 10-24 pounds and have by the short and yellowish . Unlike dogs, dingos only breed once a year , do not bark and have more developed canine teeth . Dingoes and do not form packs or live alone or in small family groups .

Dingoes arrived in Australia about 4000 years ago , brought by Austronesian navigators , and not with the first Aborigines . Spread rapidly across the Australian continent and is thought to have significantly affected the ecosystem , contributing to the recession of carnivorous marsupials ( already in decline ) . With the arrival of European settlers and the flocks of sheep , the dingoes began to be persecuted and hunted as a threat , as happened with the Tasmanian tiger , which was extinguished . In the years of the 1880s built up a barrier of about 8500 km in length , with the goal of keeping away from the southeast Australian dingoes , which focused farms ( farms ) , and protect the herds . At the time , it was the largest structure ever built by man .

They feed on small animals , such as Red Kangaroo , Wallaby , European rabbit and sometimes can feed cattle .

 Geographical distribution of the dingos