What on earth is a platypus? Even its name seems strange. When Europeans first heard the startling news of a newly discovered creature called the “platypus,” most of them thought it was just a joke.

The platypus is found only in Australia, where it spends most of its life swimming in freshwater ponds and streams. Its incredibly sensitive bird-like bill contains thousands of electroreceptors.

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 believed ...

The platypus is one of the most mysterious members of the animal world. Even in the 21st century, there is still so much we don’t know about them. This “odd duck” was once so mysterious that it was ...

Notoriously tough to count, the venomous, egg-laying mammals seem to be declining. Platypus researcher and ecologist Josh Griffiths cradles a female platypus he just captured. Researchers are lobbying ...