The egg-laying wool-milk sow in Australian: the platypus

The platypus - Lexicon

In the 18th century, reports of extremely strange and curious animals were noted with curiosity in Europe, which explorers and settlers gradually sent from the relatively newly settled continent of Australia to the old homeland. Koala bears, kangaroos, emus and Tasmanian devils - on this distant continent, one animal seemed more fantastic and incredible than the next. Some animals seemed so bizarre to Europeans that they could hardly believe that such a strange thing existed on God's earth.

One animal, however, whose fur was brought back to London by travelers from Australia, was the final straw for the British public; the "platypus" that was presented to them had to be a joke! A mammal that laid eggs, resembled a beaver, carried food in its cheek pouches like a hamster, but with a duck's beak and a poisonous thorn on its hind legs? The bearer of the absurd-looking specimen was accused of having cleverly crafted an "Australian Wolpertinger", a fantasy creature to show off to the British public and their sensationalist appetite for even stranger creatures.

But to their utter astonishment, a thorough examination revealed that this animal was real! In fact, female platypuses lay eggs in a similar way to reptiles, but the young that hatch from them are fed on their mother's milk, as is the case with other mammals. It is one of the few venom-producing mammals and the venomous sting of this cute-looking animal was often underestimated by hunters who stalked the platypus because of its thick fur; although the venom of the platypus is not fatal to humans, it is extremely painful and even medication can hardly alleviate the pain, which can last for months.

If you had also explained to the sensation-hungry public of the 18th century that platypuses detect their food with the help of electrical impulses, you would certainly have been called a liar and a braggart ...

Text: Dirk-Boris Rödel

Graphic: Jonas Bachmann