One suggested possible name is a “platypup”. There is no official term – equivalent to pup or cub – to describe a baby platypus. The term “platypi” – a Latin plural – is definitely incorrect. Instead, the preferred plural is either “platypus” or “platypuses”, depending on which dictionary you consult. However, this has never caught on for some reason (we can’t imagine why not).

When it was later found out that the word “Platypus” had already been applied to a group of beetles, the specimen was renamed Ornithorhynchus anatinus, with the first word meaning “bird-like snout”.īecause the word “platypus” is derived from Greek, its plural should (strictly speaking) be “platypodes”. When the specimen proved to be genuine, Shaw named it Platypus anatinus, from the Greek words “platys” (meaning flat or broad) and “pous” (meaning foot) and a Latin word meaning duck-like (“anatinus”). He even took a pair of scissors to the preserved specimen, expecting to find that the bill had been attached to the rest of the body with stitches. His initial reaction was that this very unusual looking animal was an elaborate hoax.

The duck’s babies had their mother’s bill and webbed feet and their father’s four legs and handsome brown fur.Ī British scientist, Dr George Shaw, published the first scientific description of the platypus in 1799. According to Aboriginal legend, the platypus originated when a young female duck mated with a lonely and persuasive water-rat. Names for the platypus (including “What is the plural of platypus?”)Īboriginal people had many different regional names for the platypus, including “boondaburra”, “mallingong” and “tambreet”.

Platypus evolution pluto