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duckbill |
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duckbill, fishduckbill, fish: see paddlefish paddlefish, large freshwater fish, Polyodon spathula, of the Mississippi valley, also called spoonbill or duckbill and named for its flattened, paddle-shaped snout. The largest specimens weigh well over 150 lb (67.5 kg) and reach 6 ft (183 cm) in length...... Click the link for more information. . duckbill, marsupialduckbill, marsupial: see platypus platypus (plăt`əpəs), semiaquatic egg-laying mammal, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, of Tasmania and E Australia...... Click the link for more information. . platypusor duckbillMonotreme amphibious mammal (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) of lakes and streams in eastern Australia and Tasmania. About 23 in. (60 cm) long, the squat-bodied platypus has a ducklike snout, short legs, webbed feet, and a beaverlike tail. Each day it eats nearly its own weight in crustaceans, fishes, frogs, mollusks, tadpoles, and earthworms; lacking teeth, it crushes its food with ridges in the bill. The female lays one to three eggs in a nest in a long twisting passage above the waterline. The young are weaned about four months after hatching. The male's heel bears a spur connected to a poison-secreting gland. Large fishes and perhaps snakes prey on platypuses. Formerly trapped for their dense, soft fur, they are now protected by law. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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The findings are mostly evidence of theropods (upright carnivores) with footprints of theropod prey, hadrosaurs or duck-billed dinosaurs. Authored and illustrated by Australian aboriginal artist, actor and writer Mundara Koorang, The Little Platypus And The Fire Spirit is a "Dream Time" story of the duck-billed, web-footed, paddle-tailed, fur covered platypus and how such a peculiar creature came to be of such a curiously featured shape. The configuration of these ear bones is similar in all three extant groups of mammals: the placental mammals, which bear live young, the pouched marsupials, and the egg-laying monotremes, such as the duck-billed platypus. |
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