Are Duck Billed Platypuses Poisonous
he platypus is one of a very few venomous mammals. Two species of Caribbean solenodon and a few species of shrew use poisonous saliva to subdue prey, often larger than themselves, but the platypus has something completely different and of unknown function. Rear-ankle spurs are found in all three species of monotreme. With their associated glands, they are known as the crural system. In females of all species of monotreme the spur is lost during the first year of life. Although the spurs and glands persist in male echidnas of both species, echidnas do not seem to use the system to inject venom; the platypus does. Changes in the structure of the spur in male platypuses can be used to age animals up to 15 months after they have left the breeding burrow. Fully grown adult spurs are around 15 millimeters (2 inch) in length, can be everted away from the ankles, and can be driven into an object by the action of the muscles of the rear legs. The puncture alone is painful, but the venom i...
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