The platypus has often been considered a “transitional” species between reptile and mammal, but scientists discovered it uses more than the acute sense of touch from its bill to successfully hunt prey, and that its brain is actually more highly advanced than what might be expected from a lower order mammal.
This article expands on the unique features of the platypus, first described in the article “What Kind of Animal is a Platypus? The Curious Features of This Elusive Australian Mammal.”
Platypus Bill is a Highly Sensitive Organ
The platypus has a soft, flexible bill that is actually an organ covered with delicate pores that gives the animal an acute sense of touch to replace its other senses, which it does not use under water. The platypus uses its bill to feel for food in the muddy river bottoms.
Unfortunately, early scientists studying the platypus were unaware that the animal was vulnerable to trauma because of the bill's sensitivity. Live specimens often died while in transit on horseback, and in 1943, a male named "Winston," named after Winston Churchill who requested a live platypus be delivered to him in England, succumbed to trauma while shipboard.
Depth-charges released to counter the threat of enemy submarines nearby created vibrations that were too much for little "Winston." Churchill received his specimen in the form of a taxidermied desk mount. Today, platypuses are no longer allowed to be transported off their native shore.
Electrolocation Helps the Platypus Navigate and Find Food
For two centuries scientists were unaware of the unique purpose of flaps on the platypus's bill that cover its forehead and throat. Probably one of the most famous discoveries for naturalists in our modern era came in the mid-1980s when German physiologist Henning Scheich found that the platypus has an “electric sense” that helps it navigate around obstacles under the water, and find food by detecting subtle electrical charges generated by prey.
The flap, or shield, above and below the bill contain electroreceptors laid like gridlines that receive electrical pulses from the environment and give the animal what may be described as a three-dimensional view of the underwater world. Electrolocation is necessary since the platypus swims with its eyes, ears and nasal passages sealed shut.
For example, when a freshwater shrimp flips its tail, that muscle movement creates a subtle electric charge that humans may think insignificant, but that the platypus relies on to reveal the prey’s location. Using electrolocation together with the sense of touch from its bill, the platypus has quite a remarkable adaptation for what some have considered a primitive, transitional species.
Platypus Brain Shows High Intelligence
The configuration of the platypus brain also sets it apart from the idea of a primitive order. Despite the fact that its brain has two parts rather than three, like other mammals, researchers have noted that it is quite a large brain, and that about two-thirds of it is wired to process information in relation to the platypus’s bill.
The unique relationship between the signals to the brain generated by the touch cells on the bill, and the electro-receptors on the flap, allows the platypus a high rate of success catching food, so that it can capture half its body weight in food each night.
The curious and unique characteristics of this ancient mammal make it one of the most interesting studies in the animal kingdom, and gives people an opportunity to reflect upon ideas about evolutionary processes and specialized adaptations.
Primary Reference:
Moyal, Ann. Platypus: The Extraordinary Story of How a Curious Creature Baffled the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001.
Cheryl Kraynak - Cheryl Kraynak has worked in publications and communications for 20 years and has expertise in the natural world and creative arts.
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