Definition

Noun: * Platypus, Duck-billed Platypus: A small, semi-aquatic, egg-laying mammal native to eastern Australia and Tasmania. It is characterized by a unique combination of features: a broad, flat, duck-like bill, a dense, waterproof fur coat, webbed feet, and a flat, beaver-like tail. It is one of the only five extant species of monotremes, mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The Ornithorhynchus anatinus is a fascinating example of evolutionary adaptation.
  • Scientists study the venom of the male Ornithorhynchus anatinus.
  • Spotting an Ornithorhynchus anatinus in the wild is a rare and special event.

Advanced Usage

• The binomial name is used primarily in formal, scientific, and zoological contexts. In common English, the animal is almost exclusively called a "platypus" or "duck-billed platypus."
• The name is derived from Greek and Latin: means "bird snout" and means "duck-like."

Variants and Related Words

• Platypus (n): The common name for .
• Duck-billed platypus (n): A descriptive common name.
• Monotreme (n): The order of egg-laying mammals to which the platypus belongs.
• Ornithorhynchidae (n): The biological family containing only the platypus.

Synonyms

• Platypus
• Duck-billed platypus

Notes on Meaning

• refers specifically to the biological species. It carries a precise, taxonomic meaning, distinguishing it from all other animals.
• The word "platypus" is synonymous but exists at the level of common vernacular and is not taxonomically precise on its own (as the word originally meant "flat-footed" and can refer to other things).

Noun

1. small densely furred aquatic monotreme of Australia and Tasmania having a broad bill and tail and webbed feet; only species in the family Ornithorhynchidae