Platypus                        

The platypus is a strange animal that lives in many lakes and swamps of Australia. They are a strange mammal that can be up to 20 in. long from head to tail. They are pretty light, at only 3 lbs. Their diet consists of mostly shellfish that are at the bottom of the lake. The reason that they are so strange is that they are a mammal that has a beak. The males are poisonous, for they have a sharp stinger at the bottom of their heel. The platypus has a body of an otter and a tail like a beaver. There are two reasons that the little animal is misunderstood; some people think that it is a hoax and the second is that the bill is hard. First, if it were a hoax then I would not have written this. Second, their bill has a rubbery feeling and has a very cool feature. Scientists believe that the bill is used to pick up electrical signals given off by the shellfish. The platypus is also one of the only two animals that lay eggs (the echidna is the other). That is pretty cool!

1. 20 in. long from head to tail
2. 3 lbs
3. diet consists of shellfish
4. males have a sharp stinger at the bottom of their heel

Bibliography on Platypus;
1)http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/platypus.html