Family ORNITHORHYNCHIDAE

Compiler and date details

2010 - Updated Stephen M. Jackson, c/- Queensland Museum, Brisbane

31 December 1998 - J.A. Mahoney (1988); updated by Barry J. Richardson (1999), Centre for Biostructural and Biomolecular Research, University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, NSW, Australia

Introduction

The single extant species of this family occurs only in eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania. As well as Australian fossils, a fossil monotreme from South America was described in 1992 (Pascual et al. 1992). Although the distribution of the extant species is discontinous, it is found in freshwater habitats from tropical coastal Queensland to temperate alpine regions of Victoria and Tasmania. The body of the platypus is tubular, the limbs are short and webbing occurs between the digits of both the manus and pes. The tail is broad, flattened dorso-ventrally reminiscent of the tail of a beaver (Castor). The body fur is soft and dense and, at one time, was highly prized for commercial use. The eyes are small and the ears lack pinnae. The snout is formed into a bill that resembles the bill of a duck, but the bill is soft and covered with very delicate and sensitive skin. The nostrils open on the antero-dorsal end of the bill. True teeth, present in juveniles, are replaced in adults by ridged horny plates. Males have a prominent hollow spur on each ankle that is connected to a large gland in the groin. The gland produces a toxic substance that is probably lethal to small mammals and decidedly unpleasant to humans.

Although largely aquatic, the platypus is an efficient burrower. Burrows are constructed slightly above water level and the loose soil packed down on the floor. Usually two eggs, which adhere to each other, are produced and are incubated by the female in the nest burrow.

Although solitary, several individuals may occupy a suitable stretch of water. Activity, depending upon prevailing local conditions, may occur at any time. The diet consists largely of invertebrate material, but small vertebrates also may be taken.

General References

Augee, M.L. (ed.) 1992. Platypus and Echidnas. Mosman : Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales 296 pp.

Augee, M.L. (ed.) 2004. Monotremes III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 125: 217-327

Grant, T. 1984. The Platypus. Kensington : University of New South Wales Press 76 pp.

Grant, T. 1994. The Platypus: A Unique Mammal. Kensington : University of New South Wales Press 92 pp.

Grant, T. 2007. Platypus. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing Edn 3.

Grant, T.R. 1989. Ornithorhynchidae. pp. 436-450 in Walton, D.W. & Richardson, B.J. (eds). Fauna of Australia. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1B 827 pp.

Griffiths, M. 1978. The Biology of the Monotremes. New York : Academic Press x 367 pp.

Pascual, R., Archer, M., Jaureguizar, E.O., Prado, J.L., Godthelp, H. & Hand, S.J. 1992. The first non-Australian monotreme: an early Paleocene South American Platypus (Monotremata, Ornithorhynchidae). pp. 2-14 in Augee, M.L. (ed.). Platypus and Echidnas. Mosman : Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales 296 pp.

Proske, U., Gregory, J.E. & Iggo, A. 1998. A review of recent developments in the study of electroreception in the platypus. Australian Mammalogy 20: 163-170

Simpson, G.G. 1929. The dentition of Ornithorhynchus as evidence of its affinities. American Museum Novitates 390: 1-15

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
15-Oct-2010		15-Oct-2010	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)

Genus Ornithorhynchus Blumenbach, 1800

Ornithorhynchus Blumenbach, J.F. 1800. Über das Schnabelthier (Ornithorhynchus paradoxus) ein neuentdecktes Geschlecht von Säugthieren des fünften Welttheils. Magazin für den Neuesten Zustand der Naturkunde 2: 205-214 [205] [nom. nov. for Platypus Shaw, 1799; Ornithorhynchus Blumenbach is an available name in several works published in 1800; they include Blumenbach, J.F. 1800. Physiolog. Bemerkungen über den. Ornithorhynchus paradox. Götting. Anz. Gel. Sach. 62 Stück. Den 19 April 1800. 609–612 pp., the date of which is 19 Apr. 1800; it seems to be predated by Blumenbach, J.F. 1800. 41. Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. Das Schnabelthier. Abbildungen naturhistorischer Gegenstände. Blumenbach, J.F. (ed.) 5tes heft. Göttingen : J.C. Dieterich. [2 unnumbered pages of text, pl. 41], because Blumenbach comments in a letter, dated 31 Mar. 1800, to Sir Joseph Banks, see British Museum add. Ms. 8099, pp. 16–18 [16], that his print of 0. paradoxus would be appearing the following week in the fifth number of the Abbildungen; Blumenbach's account of Ornithorhynchus paradoxus in Blumenbach, J.F. 1800. Über das Schnabelthier (Ornithorhynchus paradoxus) ein neuentdecktes Geschlecht von Säugthieren des fünften Welttheils. Mag. Neuest. Zust. Naturk. 2: 205–214 apparently is an even earlier work; it is published as a postscript and an accompanying editorial footnote (205) comments that the first two Parts of the Magazin, i.e. the Parts of the Magazin with which the O. paradoxus postscript appeared, had been printed before the O. paradoxus article arrived and the fifth number of Blumenbach's Abbildungen would be appearing soon].
Secondary source:
Blumenbach, J.F. 1800. 41. Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. Das Schnabelthier. Abbildungen naturhistorischer Gegenstände. Blumenbach, J.F. (ed.) 5tes heft. Göttingen : J.C. Dieterich.; Blumenbach, J.F. 1800. Physiolog. Bemerkungen über den. Ornithorhynchus paradox. Götting. Anz. Gel. Sach. 62 Stück. Den 19 April 1800. 609-612 pp.; Blumenbach, J.F. 1800. Über das Schnabelthier (Ornithorhynchus paradoxus) ein neuentdecktes Geschlecht von Säugthieren des fünften Welttheils. Magazin für den Neuesten Zustand der Naturkunde 2: 205-214.
Platypus Shaw, G. 1799. Platypus anatinus. The Duck-billed Platypus. The Naturalists' Miscellany: containing accurate and elegant coloured figures of the most curious and beautiful productions of nature; with descriptions in Latin and English in the Linnaean manner. To which are added descriptions more at large, and calculated for general information. No. 118. London : F.P. Nodder & Co. Vol. 10 7 unnumbered pages of text pls 385-386. [junior homonym of Platypus Herbst, 1793].
Type species:
Platypus anatinus Shaw, 1799 by monotypy.
Dermipus Wiedemann, C.R.W. 1800. Nachricht von einem äusserst fonderbaren, neu entdeckten Säugethiere: Platypus anatinus. Archiv für Zoologie und Zootomie 1: 175-180 pl. 4 (as pl. 3) [180] [nom. nov. for Platypus Shaw, 1799; the date in 1800 of Dermipus Wiedemann is not known to Mahoney, J.; if Dermipus Wiedemann is found to predate Ornithorhynchus Blumenbach it would be an unused senior synonym; in that case the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature should be asked to suppress it].
Ornithorinchus Artaud, S. 1803. Manuel d'Histoire Naturelle, traduit de l'allemand, de J. Fr. Blumenbach, Professeur a l'Université de Gottingue. Tome premier. Metz : Collignon xvi 528 pp. [162] [unjustified emendation of Ornithorhynchus Blumenbach, 1800].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

Mahoney, J.A. in Walton, D.W. (ed.) 1988. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Volume 5. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service x 274 pp. [Date published 13/Apr/1988]

Introduction

A special issue, the Australian Journal of Zoology Volume 57(3, 4): 294 pp., is devoted to papers on the platypus.

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

ACT, NSW, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Ben Lomond (BEL), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders (FLI), Kanmantoo (KAN), King (KIN), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Tasmanian West (TWE), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
15-Oct-2010		26-Aug-2023	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)

Species Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Shaw, 1799)

CAVS: 1001

Platypus

Platypus anatinus Shaw, G. 1799. Platypus anatinus. The Duck-billed Platypus. The Naturalists' Miscellany: containing accurate and elegant coloured figures of the most curious and beautiful productions of nature; with descriptions in Latin and English in the Linnaean manner. To which are added descriptions more at large, and calculated for general information. No. 118. London : F.P. Nodder & Co. Vol. 10 7 unnumbered pages of text pls 385-386. [unnumbered] [Anderson, J. 1802. Notices of a singular animal, lately discovered in New South Wales, with a figure. Recreations in Agriculture, Natural-history, Arts, and Miscellaneous Literature (=Vol. 6 of combined series) 2 2: 562–565, plate opposite title page of volume, records that the specimen from which Shaw took his description 'was brought by an officer of the Ceres Indiaman, which ship arrived here October 1798. He brought it, together with some other articles of natural history, at Canton, from an officer of the Britannia, which had sailed from England with convicts for Botany Bay, and had just arrived in China (on its homeward voyage). The only account he could give of it was, that he had it from a sergeant who brought it with some other articles from the interior part of the country'; Anderson [565] also records that the specimen had been prepared by Mr Dobson, was 18 inches in length (given correctly as 13 inches by Shaw op. cit.) and was in the possession of Dr Buchan of Store Street, Bedford Square; the Britannia sailed from Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) in August, 1797, see Collins, [D.] 1802. An Account of the English Colony of New South Wales, from its first settlement, in January 1788, to August 1801 …. London : T. Cadell jun. & W. Davies 2 xvi 336 pp. [45]; at that time, the settled areas of Australia were confined to Norfolk Is. and the Sydney region of New South Wales; Norfolk Is. is located more than 1000 km from the Australian mainland and Ornithorhynchus does not occur there; it has been found, however, in rivers and streams close to Sydney; for those reasons, the type locality of Platypus anatinus is recorded as the Sydney region, NSW; Whitley, G.P. 1975. More Early History of Australian Zoology. Sydney : The Zoological Society of New South Wales 91 pp. [40] identified a drawing of a platypus published in Collins (op. cit. p. 63) as a figure of the type; Governor Hunter made the drawing and sent it together with a platypus skin to the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Hunter's letter of 10 Aug., 1798 to the Society informing it about the drawing and platypus skin is published in Turner, S. 1980. How to attract the wombat - a tale of five days of discovery (with apologies to Harold Cuppy). Museologie 5: 45–48 [46–47]; if the specimen that Hunter sent to the Society is the subject of his drawing then the figure in Collins loc. cit. is not of the holotype; both the Hunter platypus skin and drawing are lost].
Type data:
Holotype BMNH 1979.2184 ♂ (skin with anterior part of skull in skin and spurs missing from hind feet, extracted portion of the skull listed by Thomas, O. 1883. Catalogue of the Marsupialia and Monotremata in the Collection of the British Museum (Natural History). London : British Museum xiv 401 pp. [390, specimens] as that of the holotype cannot be found in the BMNH and whereabouts unknown), the Sydney region, NSW (as Australasia or New Holland).
Secondary source:
Anderson, J. 1802. Notices of a singular animal, lately discovered in New South Wales, with a figure. Recreations in Agriculture, Natural-history, Arts and Miscellaneous Literature 2 2: 562-565; Collins, [D.] 1802. An Account of the English Colony of New South Wales, from its first settlement, in January 1788, to August 1801 …. London : T. Cadell jun. & W. Davies 2 xvi 336 pp.; Whitley, G.P. 1975. More Early History of Australian Zoology. Sydney : The Zoological Society of New South Wales 91 pp.; Turner, S. 1980. How to attract the wombat - a tale of five days of discovery (with apologies to Harold Cuppy). Museologie 5: 45-48.
Ornithorhynchus paradoxus Blumenbach, J.F. 1800. Über das Schnabelthier (Ornithorhynchus paradoxus) ein neuentdecktes Geschlecht von Säugthieren des fünften Welttheils. Magazin für den Neuesten Zustand der Naturkunde 2: 205-214 [205] [replacement name; for Platypus anatinus Shaw, 1799; see Ornithorhynchus Blumenbach, 1800].
Type data:
Syntype(s).
Ornithorhynchus novaehollandiae Lacépède, B.G.É. (as Lacépède) 1800. Nouvelle table méthodique de la classe des mammifères. pp. 66–86 Appendix to Anon. (1800). Séances des Écoles Normales, recueillies par des sténographes, et revues par les professeurs. Nouv. édn Tome huitème. [78] [as Ornithorynchus novaehollandiae; generic name is spelled in two ways, Ornithorhyncus and Ornithorynchus in Lacépède's Nouvelle table méthodique de la classe des mammifères; these two spellings are interpreted by Mahoney, J.A., as incorrect subsequent spellings of Ornithorhynchus Blumenbach, 1800 despite the opinion of Husson, A.M. & Holthuis, L.B. 1953. On the early editions of Lacépèdes 'Tableaux des mammifères et des oiseaux', with remarks on the two hitherto overlooked species: Lori bengalensis Lacépède, 1800, and Ornithorynchus novaehollandiae Lacépède, 1800. Zool. Meded. 32: 211–219 [214], it seems highly probable that Lacépède proposed Ornithor(h)ync(h)us as a new genus; Lacépède's Nouvelle table méthodique de la classe des mammifères was published in the ninth year of the French Republic and since that year commenced on 23 Sept. 1800, it is quite possible that Lacépède's description of O. novaehollandiae is based on a published account (or accounts) of the platypus].
Type data:
Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown, probably the Sydney region, NSW (as Nouvelle Hollande).
Ornithorhynchus fuscus Péron, F. 1807. Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes, Exécuté par Ordre de Sa Majesté l'Empereur et Roi, sur les Corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste, et la Goelette le Casurina, Pendant les Années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804. Tome premier. Paris : Imprimerie Impériale xv 498 pp.1 pl. Atlas. [498 (unnumbered), Atlas pl. 34] [issued separately and entitled Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes Exécuté par Ordre de S.M. I'Empereur et Roi. Partie historique rédigée par M.F. Péron. Atlas par M.M. Lesueur et Petit. Pt 1 6 pp. 41 pls [498 (unnumbered), Atlas pl. 34] as Ornithorincus fuscus; Ornithorincus is an incorrect subsequent spelling of Ornithorhynchus].
Type data:
Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown (the syntypes are not in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, see Beaufort, F. de 1966. Catalogue des types des mammifères du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. VI Monotremata. VII Marsupialia. Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris 2 38(5): 509–553 [513]), probably the Sydney region, NSW (as Nouvelle-Hollande: Nouvelle Galles du Sud).
Ornithorhynchus rufus Péron, F. 1807. Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes, Exécuté par Ordre de Sa Majesté l'Empereur et Roi, sur les Corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste, et la Goelette le Casurina, Pendant les Années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804. Tome premier. Paris : Imprimerie Impériale xv 498 pp.1 pl. Atlas. [498 (unnumbered), Atlas pl. 34] [issued separately and entitled Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes Exécuté par Ordre de S.M. I'Empereur et Roi. Partie historique rédigée par M.F. Péron. Atlas par M.M. Lesueur et Petit. Pt 1 6 pp. 41 pls [498 (unnumbered), Atlas pl. 34] as Ornithorincus rufus; Ornithorincus is an incorrect subsequent spelling of Ornithorhynchus].
Type data:
Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown (the syntypes are not in the MNHP, see Beaufort, F. de 1966. Catalogue des types des mammifères du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. VI Monotremata. VII Marsupialia. Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris 2 38(5): 509–553 [513]), probably the Sydney region, NSW (as Nouvelle-Hollande: Nouvelle Galles du Sud).
Ornithorhynchus crispus Macgillivray, 1827 [as Ornithorynchus crispus; Ornithorynchus is an incorrect subsequent spelling of Ornithorhynchus; Macgillivray described O. crispus from four, now lost, specimens in the University of Edinburgh Natural History Museum; the University Museum became a part of the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, later named the Royal Scottish Museum, in the mid 19th Century, see Allan, D.A. 1954. The Royal Scottish Museum. General Survey. pp. 5-24 in, The Royal Scottish Museum. Art & Ethnography. Natural History. Technology. Geology 1854–1954. Oliver & Boyd : Edinburgh. and Stephen, A.C. 1954. The Department of Natural History. pp. 35–41in The Royal Scottish Museum. Art & Ethnography. Natural History. Technology. Geology 1854–1954. Edinburgh : Oliver & Boyd].
Type data:
Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown ♂ not found in RSM, Tas. (as Van Diemen's Land).
Ornithorhynchus laevis Macgillivray, W. 1827. Description of a new species of Ornithorynchus. Memoirs of the Wernerian Natural History Society, Edinburgh 6: 127-132 [publication date established from Geoffroy [Saint-Hilaire], I. (as Is. G. St.-H.) 1827. Ornithorhynque. Dictionnaire Classique d'Histoire Naturelle. Ouvrage dirigé par ce dernier collaborateur, et dans lequel on a ajouté, pour le porter au niveau de la science, un grand nombre de mots qui n'avaient pu faire partie de la plupart des Dictionnaires antérieurs. 12 (NUA-PAM): 392–411. [408]; the date printed on the title page of Tome Douzième (NUA-PAM) is Août 1827] [132] [nom. nov. for Ornithorhynchus rufus Péron, 1800; as Ornithorynchus laevis; Ornithorynchus is an incorrect subsequent spelling of Ornithorhynchus].
Type data:
Syntype(s).
Ornithorhynchus brevirostris Ogilby, W. 1832. On two new species of Mammalia from New Holland. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1831: 149-151 [publication date established from Sclater, P.L. 1893. List of the dates of receipt from the Printers of the sheets of the Society's 'Proceedings' from 1831 to 1859 inclusive. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1893: 435–440 [436]] [150] [Ogilby (1849) observes that O. brevirostris was brought from the neighbourhood of the Swan River by Lieutenant Matthew Friend; Friend sailed from Portsmouth on 14 Aug. 1829 in command of the Wanstead carrying emigrants to Australia; on the outward voyage his Australian ports-of-call were Fremantle, Swan River Colony (WA) and Hobart, Van Diemen's Land (TAS); the homeward voyage ended in mid-1831 and Half-way Is., Torres Strait, was the only Australian locality visited, see Roberts, J. 1834. Two Years at Sea: being the narrative of a voyage to the Swan River and Van Dieman's Land, during the years 1829, 30, 31. London : R. Bentley xviii 396 pp., Anon. 1931. The diary of Mary Ann Friend. J. Proc. Hist. Soc. West. Aust. 1: 1–11 and Cowie, P.K. 1966. Friend, Matthew Curling. pp. 417–418 in Shaw, A.G.L. & Clark, C.M.H. (eds). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Carlton : Melbourne Univ. Press Vol. 1 1788–1850 pp.; of those parts of Australia visited by the Wanstead, Ornithorhynchus has been found only in Tasmania].
Type data:
Holotype whereabouts unknown not found in BMNH (the holotype is specimen number 665d of Waterhouse, G.R. 1838. Catalogue of the Mammalia Preserved in the Museum of the Zoological Society of London. London : The Zoological Society of London 68 pp. [68], and specimen number 614 of the Zoological Society of London's hand-written Mammal Catalogue Vol. 4; The Zoological Society of London donated the types of species described in its publications to the British Museum when disposing of its collections in the middle of the last century, see Anon. 1856. IV. Museum. pp. 9-10 in, Reports of the Council and Auditors of the Zoological Society of London, read at the Annual General Meeting, April 29th, 1856. Zoological Society of London : London. [10]; it is not known if the holotype of O. brevirostris was included in the donation), apparently TAS (as the neighbourhood of Swan River).
Ornithorhynchus anatinus phoxinus Thomas, O. 1923. The Godman Exploration Fund: List of mammals from north Queensland collected by Mr T.V. Sherrin. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 9 11: 170-178 [176].
Type data:
Holotype BMNH 22.12.18.60 ♂ skin & skull, Vine Creek, Ravenshoe, QLD 3000ft, see BMNH Register and skin label of holotype; Thomas, loc. cit. records the locality of the holotype as Dinner Creek, Ravenshoe 2900ft, but the BMNH Register and the skin label agree on Vine Creek as the loc.
Ornithorhynchus anatinus triton Thomas, O. 1923. The Godman Exploration Fund: List of mammals from north Queensland collected by Mr T.V. Sherrin. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 9 11: 170-178 [178].
Type data:
Holotype BMNH 84.5.15.1 ♂ skin & skull, Victorian side of the Murray River, opposite Deniliquin, SW NSW.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

Mahoney, J.A. in Walton, D.W. (ed.) 1988. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Volume 5. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service x 274 pp. [Date published 13/Apr/1988]

Generic Combinations

Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Shaw, 1799). —
Blumenbach, J.F. 1800. 41. Ornithorhynchus paradoxus. Das Schnabelthier. Abbildungen naturhistorischer Gegenstände. Blumenbach, J.F. (ed.) 5tes heft. Göttingen : J.C. Dieterich.

Introduction

A special issue, the Australian Journal of Zoology Volume 57(3, 4): 294 pp., is devoted to papers on the platypus.

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA

Ecological Descriptors

Amphibious, burrower, coastal, crepuscular, estuary, freshwater, montane, noctidiurnal, oviparous, predator, solitary, subtropical, temperate, territorial, tropical.