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The platypus is one of the few living mammals to produce venom. The venom is made in venom glands that are connected to hollow spurs on their hind legs; it is primarily made during the mating season. [1] While the venom's effects are described as extremely painful, it is not lethal to humans.
Male platypuses have sharp spurs on their back legs shaped like a canine tooth. These hollow spurs measure 0.59 to 0.71 inches long and connect to crural glands in the animal’s upper thighs.
The platypus has frequently appeared in Australian postage stamps, most recently the 2015 "Native Animals" series and the 2016 "Australian Animals Monotremes" series. [ 138 ] [ 139 ] In the American animated series Phineas and Ferb , the title characters own a pet bluish-green platypus named Perry who, unknown to them, is a secret agent.
The echidna spurs are vestigial and have no known function, while the platypus spurs contain venom. [42] Molecular data show that the main component of platypus venom emerged before the divergence of platypus and echidnas, suggesting that the most recent common ancestor of these taxa was also possibly a venomous monotreme. [43]
They’re especially dangerous to children, conservationists say.
The platypus — a venomous, egg-laying, duck-billed, amphibious mammal — is one of the strangest creatures in the animal kingdom. When a platypus pelt was first presented by Joseph Banks to English naturalists in the late 18th century, they were convinced it must be a cleverly created hoax.
The threatened creatures are a keystone species in north Florida, wildlife experts said.
The Deadliest Animal in the World, Gates Notes; These Are The Top 15 Deadliest Animals on Earth, Science Alert; Top 10 Deadliest Animals To Humans In The World, Toptenia; The 25 Most Dangerous Animals In The World, List 25; The Most Dangerous Animals in the World, Animal Danger; Top 10 Most Dangerous Animals In The World, Conservation Institute