第 1291 號，共 1 402 號

Platypus

Ornithorhynchus anatinus

名字的由來： The common name 'platypus' means 'flat-foot', from Greek words for 'broad, flat' and 'foot'.1

只是會痛會痛，但不會對你造成嚴重傷害。

有毒液的哺乳動物

有毒液的距

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

The platypus is a semiaquatic mammal that lays eggs, and it has a duck-like bill and a beaver-like tail. It lives in eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It is special because it is one of the few venomous mammals.1

分布在

Eastern Australia, including Tasmania1

澳洲與大洋洲

首頁

The platypus is semiaquatic, so it lives in and around water. It digs in the bottom of streams with its bill to find food.1

長度

43 cm 到 50 cm (1,4 ft 到 1,6 ft)1

體重

900 g 到 1,7 kg (2 lb 到 3,7 lb)1

最高速度

大約 3,5 km/h（2,2 mph）

游泳, 粗略估計

牠吃什麼？

The platypus digs in stream bottoms with its bill and uses electrolocation to detect the tiny electric currents made by the muscles of its prey. It has cheek pouches for storing food.1

Platypus 的照片 — Platypus。照片：Charles J. Sharp。 CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

怎麼認出牠

Short, dense, brown fur that is waterproof1
A soft, duck-like bill1
A wide, flat, furry tail, unlike the scaly tail of a beaver1
Short legs with webbing, most noticeably on the front feet1
Small eyes and ears that sit in a groove that closes underwater1

常被誤認為： Early European naturalists were confused by the platypus and thought it was a fake, made by sewing a duck's beak onto a beaver-like body. Its tail looks like a beaver's, but it is furry rather than scaly.1

毒液力量

有毒液的距

後腿上尖尖的距帶著毒液。

牠的毒液有什麼作用？

Only the male platypus has venom, which it injects through a spur on each hind foot. The venom is powerful enough to cause extreme pain in humans. The affected limb then develops swelling, which starts at the wound and spreads.1

牠對人有多危險？

對人的危險: 疼痛可能會非常痛，但幾乎從來不會很嚴重。

The venom is extremely painful.1

如果牠的距刺到你

把傷口徹底洗乾淨，並且就醫。

一定要先打緊急電話（112、000、911）。這是一般急救指引，不是醫療建議。急救基本知識

注意安全

絕對不要碰、抓或捉弄野生動物，就算是很小的動物，就算牠看起來在睡覺或已經死了也一樣。
給牠空間。如果遇到了，保持冷靜，慢慢往後退，讓牠自己離開。
如果被牠的距刺到：保持冷靜，保持不動，打緊急電話（112、000、911）或趕快去醫院。記住牠的樣子，有照片會很有幫助。

牠不是想來抓你。牠用毒液來捕捉食物或保護自己，而且牠更想躲起來。更多安全知識

在世界上的哪裡？

非洲亞洲歐洲北美洲南美洲澳洲與大洋洲

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

牠有多重？

跟 14 根香蕉一樣重

跟 3 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長跟 16 塊玩具積木排成一排一樣長可以在 51 秒內游完一座大游泳池（50 公尺）

Platypus 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡做算術。什麼都不會儲存，也不會傳送到任何地方。

牠有多快？

一個正在游泳的人 大約 3 km/h (1,9 mph)

Platypus 大約 3,5 km/h (2,2 mph)

奧運游泳選手 大約 8 km/h (5 mph)

值得知道

小知識

The platypus has about 40,000 electroreceptors in its bill, which detect electric signals from prey in murky water.1

Its fur is one of the most densely packed of any mammal, behind only otters. It also glows cyan and green under ultraviolet light.1

The platypus lacks a functional stomach, because it does not have the genes needed to make pepsin, a digestive enzyme.1

Adult platypuses have no teeth. They have heavily keratinised grinding pads instead, and young platypuses lose their teeth around the time they leave their burrow.1

Its average body temperature is about 32 °C, lower than the 37 °C typical of placental mammals.1

破解迷思

迷思： The platypus is a hoax, made by sewing several animals together.

真相： The platypus is a real species. When the first scientists examined a preserved body in 1799, they doubted it, and George Shaw even used scissors to check for stitches.1

給毒液專家

學名: Ornithorhynchus anatinus
類群: 有毒液的哺乳動物
家人: Ornithorhynchidae2
排序: Monotremata
各大洲: 澳洲與大洋洲
寶寶: The platypus lays eggs instead of giving birth to live young.1
牠在野外的狀況: Near-threatened (IUCN). A November 2020 report recommended upgrading it to threatened under Australia's federal EPBC Act.1
對人的危險: 2 / 5: 疼痛3