The Mysterious Platypus Trivia Quiz

Answer: It doesn't bear live young.

A mother platypus typically lays two eggs. The eggs cling to the mother's fur on her belly. Though the mother produces milk, she doesn't suckle her babies. Instead, the milk oozes out of the glands onto the mother's fur. The babies then lick it off.

Answer: No

The beak of a platypus is pliable cartilage.

Answer: It has poison spurs.

The male platypus has poison spurs on its hind feet. The venom can make a person ill and is strong enough to kill a dog.

Answer: All of these.

The main purpose of the tail is to store fat for winter or for egg-laying, but it also uses it for other purposes. A healthy platypus will have a plump tail.

Answer: A house cat.

A male platypus is about 50 - 60 centimeters (20 - 24 inches) long and weighs about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds). A female platypus is about 40 - 50 centimeters (16-20 inches) long and weighs about .9 kg (2 pounds).

Answer: Both of these.

The bill of the platypus has an electro-receptor system that can detect the electric impulses of other creatures' muscles. The bill also has nostrils on the top that allow the platypus to breathe while the bulk of its body is under water.

Answer: Broad foot.

Platypus is from the Greek "platys" meaning broad and "pous" meaning foot, referring to the animal's webbed foot.

Answer: It is more dense than most other animals' fur.

A platypus has about 800 hairs per square millimeter, which is more hairs per square millimeter than the river otter or polar bear.

Answer: He's just reached sexual maturity.

A platypus lifespan is about 10-15 years, though their life expectancy in the wild is closer to six years.

Answer: Yes

The GenevaSchools web site describes a platypus's vocalizations as similar to a puppy's growl.

Answer: The platypus has two ovaries but only one functions.

Specifically, the left ovary is the functioning ovary.

Answer: Both.

The platypus has more hemoglobin in its red blood cells than any other mammal, which enables it to store a lot of oxygen. Its heart rate can also vary from 140 - 230 beats a minute to almost 0 beats per minute.

Answer: Yes

Its fur is thick, it stores fat in its tail, it can speed or slow its heart rate -- a platypus is well-suited to cold-weather living.

Answer: A platypus lives a solitary life.

Each platypus has its own home range for feeding.

Answer: Only the babies.

The baby has molars. An adult platypus has grinding pads in its bill.

Answer: It's a carnivore.

A platypus eats a variety of small creatures, such as small fish, insects and larvae.

Answer: No

The mother platypus curls her body and tail around her eggs to keep them safe and warm.

Answer: It's seen mostly at dawn and dusk, but individual routines vary.

The web sites I'd checked said the platypus was nocturnal, but after I got several correction e-mails from folks who'd seen the critters during broad daylight, I did more research on this.

Answer: No

A 1999 press release indicated that a baby platypus hatched in Melbourne was the first baby platypus born in captivity since 1944. A zookeeper referred to the hatching as the "zoological equivalent of reaching the peak of Mount Everest".

Answer: In Australian zoos, or in the wild in Australia.

The Australian government has very strict controls on the removal of platypuses from the country. (Platypus? Platypi? There's no consensus on the plural.) from the country. The Bronx Zoo had some in the twentieth century but they are notoriously difficult to keep alive in captivity, let alone breed. Note - San Diego Zoo took possession of two in late 2019.