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Female platypuses, in common with echidnas, have rudimentary spur buds that do not develop (dropping off before the end of their first year) and lack functional crural glands. [3] The spur is attached to a small bone that allows articulation; the spur can move at a right angle to the limb allowing a greater range of attack than a fixed spur ...
Adult male platypuses largely avoid each other, outside of this mating rivalry. [6] Platypus venom is likely retained from its distant non-monotreme ancestors, being the last living example of what was once a common characteristic among mammals. [2] Fossil records show that venom delivery systems were not sexually dimorphic in ancestral ...
Only male platypuses have venomous spurs. The amount of venom a male platypus produces also increases during breeding season, so scientists believe it is used as a weapon against rival males ...
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]
With a beaver’s tail, webbed feet, and a duck’s bill, platypuses are one of the world’s strangest-looking creatures. They are such an unusual mammal that the first scientists to study them ...
A stinger (or sting) is a sharp organ found in various animals (typically insects and other arthropods) capable of injecting venom, usually by piercing the epidermis of another animal. An insect sting is complicated by its introduction of venom , although not all stings are venomous.
Venoms have adapted to serve a wide variety of purposes. Their intended effects can range from mild fleeting discomfort to paralysis and death, and they may be highly selective in which species they target, often making them harmless to all but a few specific organisms; what may be fatal to one species may be totally insignificant to another ...
were missing from each plant in the year 2000 [3]. These chlor-alkali plants have an average of fifty-six cells, each containing as much as 8,000 pounds of mercury [4] and, every year the chlor-alkali industry reports unaccounted for mercury losses to the EPA [5]. Mercury is a danger to unborn children whose developing brains can be damaged if