First of all, let me ask you a question, what do you say that animals are poisonous? I guess you're thinking of cobras, or poisonous spiders, and, by the way, pufferfish and jellyfish in the water. But today's protagonist is a mammalian platypus, and the humble platypus is actually poisonous, how can you not imagine?
Platypus is an ancient species that dates back 25 million years, and it's amazing that the platypus's body seems to have been made up of a patchwork of animals. What is even more surprising is that it actually carries a variety of toxins, and we will talk about this amazing species today.
On Earth, the platypus is a rare animal, and it is only found in eastern Australia and Tasmania. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a "living fossil", because it appeared on Earth 25 million years ago. However, after such a long time, it has not evolved much, and the platypus today is no different from the platypus of 25 million years ago.
The platypus looks strange, it is simply "not like". British botanist and zoologist George W. Bush. When Shaw first saw the platypus specimen, he even suspected that it was not a primitive species, but a human prank.
The process of discovering this new species of platypus is dramatic. There was a garment factory in eastern Australia, and one day in 1798, Hunter, a worker at the factory, was wandering by the sea, and he suddenly noticed some strange animal floating on the surface of the sea, a creature he had never seen before, but it was a platypus.
He grabbed a few, but without a camera at the time, he drew a sketch and sent their fur back to England along with the painting. When the British naturalist George Shaw saw the sketch, he thought it was Hunter's prank because it did look like it was stitched together from different animal parts. As for the fur he sent back, it was like a beaver sewn with a duck's beak, which George thought was a handmade product made by Hunter.
George wanted to cut open the artificial work, but he was surprised to find that the specimen had no stitching marks, that is, it was a natural species, not an artificial work.
In 1799, George named the species Platypus. He hadn't seen it in person, and he wasn't sure if the species really existed. Thus, after the joint identification of other naturalists, the platypus was officially recognized as a new species.
One of the characteristics of the platypus is that it is an oviparous mammal. When scientists first discovered platypus, they naturally thought the mammal must have been viviparous. This view continued for nearly a century, until this misconception was broken in 1884. At that time, William Hay Caldwell led 150 Indigenous Australians to conduct field research and found several platypus eggs.
This discovery is like a thunderbolt, the platypus is oviparous? Isn't that a fantasy! Where are the mammals that are oviparous? Scientists couldn't believe their eyes. To confirm the authenticity, they observed over time that platypuses usually breed in the spring, lay two to three eggs at a time, and, like hens, hatch at body temperature. About 10 days later, the young of the platypus are born.
So why is it oviparous and still a mammal? It turns out that judging whether an animal is a mammal is not only to see whether it is born, but also to see whether it is fed to the baby through milk. Although the platypus's baby is oviparous, it grows up eating its mother's milk. As soon as the baby platypus hatches from its eggshell, her mother feeds her milk.
What's even stranger is that the platypus has no nipples all over its body, so how do its children feed? It turns out that its milk is oozing from the fur, and children can drink milk as long as they lick the fur, isn't it amazing? It is now certain that the platypus is an oviparous mammal.
Another feature of the platypus is its stinger. Many people see the cute platypus and think it is cute, how can not imagine that he will have poisonous thorns, more importantly, the location of the stinger is very hidden, just on the hind feet. This 15 mm long stinger is only available in males, and the stinger is not always poisonous, it is only found in the spring and winter mating seasons.
Of course, its stinger is prepared to be able to beat its competitors during the mating season and thus win the hearts and minds of beauties. Or during the feeding season, in order to protect their territory, use stingers for defense.
Does the platypus's venom kill people? Studies have found that its poisonous juice does not cause fatal damage to the human body. However, a sensation of severe pain may occur. Some victims have said that the pain feels terrible, even more painful than being hit by shrapnel on the battlefield, so we should not easily provoke the platypus. However, it is rare to see it in China, so rest assured.
Poisonous substances generally have medicinal properties, and platypus venom is no exception. Scientists have found that the protein in this venom can alleviate the pain of cancer patients. With the development of medicine, perhaps one day in the future, the venom of platypus can help humans treat cancer.