AnimalsThe platypus is one of very few mammals that lay eggs. It has a bill like a duck, a tail like a beaver and webbed feet. It finds its food under water by sensing the tiny electric signals of its prey. Males have a venomous spur on each back leg.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Ornithorhynchus anatinus
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Carnivore (eats other animals)
- Lives in
- Eastern Australia
- Habitat
- Rivers and streams
- A young one is called
- puggle
- A group is called
- no special name
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Monotremata
- Family Ornithorhynchidae
- Genus Ornithorhynchus
- Species Ornithorhynchus anatinus
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The platypus is listed as Near Threatened. The species is not yet classed as threatened, but it is close and may become so soon.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.