Although captive-breeding programs have had only limited success, and the platypus is vulnerable to the effects of pollution, it is not under any immediate threat.Īs of 2020, the platypus is a legally protected species in all states where it occurs. Until the early 20th century, humans hunted the platypus for its fur, but it is now protected throughout its range.
It has appeared as a mascot at national events and features on the reverse of the Australian twenty-cent coin, and the platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales. It is culturally significant to several Aboriginal peoples of Australia, who also used to hunt the animal for food. The unique features of the platypus make it an important subject in the study of evolutionary biology, and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia. The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, and the first scientists to examine a preserved platypus body (in 1799) judged it a fake, made of several animals sewn together. It is one of the few species of venomous mammals, as the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom, capable of causing severe pain to humans. Like other monotremes, it senses prey through electrolocation. It is one of the few mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family ( Ornithorhynchidae) and genus ( Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species appear in the fossil record. In the paper in which they presented their discovery, the American scientists expressed a desire to work with their Australian colleagues in order to observe the phenomenon of biofluorescence in animals in the wild, too.The platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. This means that the light emanated by its fur cannot be used as a signal to other specimens of the same species.
However, the platypus swims and hunts with its eyes closed, as it identifies its prey using mechanoreception and electroreception. Without doubt, there is a reason, as all these animals are nocturnal or crepuscular, and often this type of animal can see UV rays. In visible light, the thick fur of the platypuses looks universally brown, but when exposed to ultraviolet light it gives off a glow between green and cyan.Īt present, it is difficult to give a universal reason for these discoveries regarding biofluorescence in mammals. In a laboratory, photographs were taken of the animals by applying a filter to the lens that blocked wavelengths below a certain limit so the higher wavelengths (those emitted by the biofluorescent tissues) could be seen better. The best-known example of this is the firefly, but various creatures, such as fish, cephalopods and crustaceans are also bioluminescent. This type of emission is called bioluminescence. If biofluorescence is activated only in the presence of external light, there are also organisms that can emit light independently from their own body thanks to a chemical reaction that produces light energy. Scientists have speculated that, in certain conditions, glowing in the dark can be useful as it enables the animal to be recognised by its own kind while also helping it to hide from predators whose vision may not detect low frequency light. In the animal world, many species of fish, coelenterates, reptiles, amphibians and birds are biofluorescent. This physical effect may be caused by special proteins or other organic substances that make up the living tissue. colours in the spectrum that are visible to human beings). Biofluorescence, the phenomenon we are discussing in this article, occurs when an organism, exposed to a high frequency light (like ultraviolet light) reflects a lower frequency light (i.e. It is important to distinguish between two different phenomena regarding the capacity of living beings to emit light.
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