platypus
/ˈplatɪpəs
/
noun (plural platypuses)
A semiaquatic egg-laying mammal which frequents lakes and streams in eastern Australia. It has a sensitive pliable bill shaped like that of a duck, webbed feet with venomous spurs, and dense fur. Also called duckbill or duck-billed platypus.
- Ornithorhynchus anatinus, the only member of the family Ornithorhynchidae, order Monotremata.
- The mammals the researchers studied were the platypus, echidna, opossum, wallaby, hedgehog, mouse, rat, rabbit, cow, pig, bat, tree shrew, colugo, ringtail lemur, and humans.
- Two of the most amazing mammals on Earth are the naked mole-rat and the platypus.
Origin
Late 18th century: modern Latin, from Greek platupous 'flat-footed', from platus 'flat' + pous 'foot'.