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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

Platypuses hunt with their eyes shut!
©John Carnemolla/Shutterstock.com
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

A platypus typically measures 14.5 to 25 inches long from bill to tail.
©Lukas_Vejrik/Shutterstock.com
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 venom can temporarily incapacitate a rival male.
©iStock.com/Kevin Wells
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?

The GLP-1 that a platypus produces lasts much longer than GLP-1 from humans.
©Victor Moussa/Shutterstock.com
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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