Check Out the Venomous Defense Mechanism of the Male Platypus

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Written by Kellianne Matthews

Published: January 15, 2025

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Ornithorhynchus anatinus commonly called the platypus
bluesmoke/Shutterstock.com

Australia is home to some truly unique and unexpected creatures, but few are quite as strange and fascinating as the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). The platypus doesn’t fit into any particular category: it’s a mammal, but it lays eggs like a reptile. It has a duck-like bill and webbed feet, but its otter-like body ends with a tail like a beaver. While the platypus is quirky and even kind of cute, it’s not an animal you ever want to underestimate — as seen in this video, male platypuses are surprisingly venomous!

A Chimeric Creature

Platypus are a species that show up in fun facts about animals lists

Platypuses hunt with their eyes shut!

The platypus is found only in Australia, where it spends most of its life swimming in freshwater ponds and streams. Its incredibly sensitive bird-like bill contains thousands of electroreceptors. These help the platypus to sense its prey, even in murky water. Platypuses are carnivores and hunt animals like worms, shrimp, snails, and insects.

With their small furry bodies and extraordinarily unusual features, platypuses certainly have their own unique charm — but hidden beneath this playful-looking exterior is a formidable defensive system that can kill.

The Platypus’s Painfully Venomous Spurs

Burnie, Tasmania, Australia: March 2019: Platypus sviming in the river.

A platypus typically measures 14.5 to 25 inches long from bill to tail.

Male platypuses have sharp spurs on their back legs shaped like a canine tooth. These hollow spurs measure 0.59 to 0.71 inches long and connect to crural glands in the animal’s upper thighs. These crural glands produce a sticky venom made up of complex chemicals. When a platypus feels threatened, it will stab its spurs into its attacker and inject this toxic venom.

Fortunately for humans, platypus venom isn’t fatal, but it does cause extreme pain. In fact, it’s been described as “worse than childbirth” and even more painful than “being hit by shrapnel.” This excruciating pain can last for weeks and even months, and painkillers — including morphine — offer little to no relief. In addition to this inexplicable pain, platypus venom can also cause cold sweats, nausea, lymph node swelling, gastric pain, and muscle wasting.

In contrast, platypus venom can kill smaller animals — such as a medium-sized dog — within a matter of minutes.

Why Do Platypuses Have Venom?

Platypus

Platypus venom can temporarily incapacitate a rival male.

Only male platypuses have venomous spurs. The amount of venom a male platypus produces also increases during breeding season, so scientists believe it is used as a weapon against rival males. Interestingly, however, the venom doesn’t seem to cause serious harm to other platypuses — it simply slows them down for a while.

What’s In Platypus Venom?

Simple sugars, diabetes awareness and chemical structure of carbohydrates concept with plastic model of the glucose molecule and sugar cubes isolated on blue background with copy space

The GLP-1 that a platypus produces lasts much longer than GLP-1 from humans.

Platypus venom is entirely different from other venomous creatures. While more research is needed, scientists believe it contains specific proteins that target the nervous system. Heptapeptide 1, for example, likely contributes to the intense pain, while amine oxidase may cause swelling and cell damage.

This complex chemical cocktail is a dangerous defense, but it might also have beneficial qualities for humans as well. One hormone found in platypus venom, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), plays a role in increasing insulin and regulating blood sugar levels, which could potentially help with new diabetes treatments.


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About the Author

Kellianne Matthews

Kellianne Matthews is a writer at A-Z Animals where her primary focus is on anthrozoology, conservation, human-animal relationships, and animal behavior. Kellianne has been writing and researching animals for over ten years and has decades of hands-on experience working with a variety of different animals. She holds a Master’s Degree from Brigham Young University, which she earned in 2017. A resident of Utah, Kellianne enjoys creating, analyzing movies, and hanging out with her dog and cats.

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