Platypuses are amazing

A duck-billed, egg laying mammal, with the tail of a beaver, the platypus lives mainly in Eastern Australia and Tasmania. They are quite unique, even bizarre, in their appearance and extraordinary characteristics. Hunted for its fur and almost reached extinction, they are now considered vulnerable species and protected all around Australia. Their population is now growing, but with the destruction of their habitats, they may come close to extinction once more.
Platypuses once swam around with dinosaurs. In Argentina, fossil remains prove that they existed at the time when the South American and Australian land masses were joined in the super-continent Gondwana. A fossil jaw 110 million years old of a platypus prototype was found in New South Wales. However, this animal was almost twice as big and had teeth unlike the modern version. This was possibly the largest mammal in the world at that time.

It is readily distinguished from the water rat or other mammals that swim in Australian rivers and streams by its smooth swimming action, low silhouette, absence of visible ears and its rolling dive. A covering of long flattened guard hairs give it a sleek appearance.
Platypus blood is rich in oxygen-carrying haemoglobin and red blood cells, so it is able to reduce its need for oxygen by reducing its heart rate from more than 200 beats per minute to less than ten.
Living in captivity, individuals have been recorded to live for up to 17 years, and in the wild, up to at least 13 years.
Additional Information: Courtesy of Damon Ramsey

The males are slightly bigger; however the biggest difference between sexes is a physiological feature that is not obvious at a glance.

Because of this competition, Platypus are basically a solitary animal. However, some may be seen in the same stretch of river where boundaries may overlap considerably, especially of the more tolerant females.

They generally live in a burrow dug into the bank, which is often dug amongst tree roots, with a very tiny entrance just above the water line (Ryan and Burwell 2000).

They can be relatively common in the streams of the tropical rainforest of Australia, but their shyness mean they can be difficult to spot. They seem more common at higher altitudes, such as on the Atherton Tablelands.
Script: Courtesy of Damon Ramsey BSc.(Zool) Biologist Guide

Additional Information: Platypus of the Lamington National Park.

Oh yeah, more to come