Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

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

duckbilled platypus, duck-billed platypus, platypus, duckbill

egg-laying mammal, monotreme - the most primitive mammals comprising the only extant members of the subclass Prototheria

genus Ornithorhynchus, Ornithorhynchus - type genus of the family Ornithorhynchidae

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

PLATYPUS Newport Museum and Art Gallery Ornithorhynchus Anatinus, to give it its scientific name, is from Australia and is one of only five living mammals which lay eggs.

Weird and wonderful; FEATURE What's in the museum? Well, some rather odd things, it turns out. A new exhibition called Stuffed, Pickled & Pinned aims to showcase some of the unusual artifacts to be found in Wales' small institutions..

The platypus, with the scientific name Ornithorhynchus anatinus, is a cute and furry mammal that has a beak and lays eggs.

Odd News: Platypus Trapped in Car Engine Miraculously Survives a 15 KM Australian Journey

Naturalists thought the first dried specimen (reaching England in 1799) was a hoax yet this 'highly interesting novelty' would take another 90 years to decide on its classification and nomenclature beginning with the popular forms of duck-bill mole and water-mole to Blumenbach's Ornithorhynchus paradoxus (1798, 1800) to George Shaw's Platypus anatinus (flat footed duck bill, 1799) before finally settling on Ornithorhynchus anatinus (bird-like snout) as the name platypus had previously been used in 1793.