platypus

Other forms: platypuses

What animal has a duck bill, fuzzy kitten belly, beaver tail, and poisonous webbed feet? A platypus! A platypus is a wacky mammal that mainly lives in the water off Australia. Although a platypus is a mammal, it lays eggs.

Because of its distinctive bill, the platypus is often called the duck billed platypus. It's an unusual animal, defying many of the usual characteristics of a mammal — the platypus lays eggs, is aquatic, has a tail like a beaver's, is venomous like a snake, and has feet like an otter. In fact, when scientists from Europe first discovered the platypus, many of them thought it was a hoax. The Greek root, platypous, means "flat-footed."