What language does the word platypus come from?

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”).

What is the word platypus mean?

A platypus! A platypus is a wacky mammal that mainly lives in the water off Australia. The Greek root, platypous, means “flat-footed.”

Where did platypus come from?

The platypus is a duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed, egg-laying aquatic creature native to Australia. If its appearance alone somehow fails to impress, the male of the species is also one of the world’s few venomous mammals!

Is platypus Greek or Latin?

The common name “platypus” literally means ‘flat-foot’, deriving from the Greek word platúpous (πλατύπους), from platús (πλατύς ‘broad, wide, flat’) and poús (πούς ‘foot’).

What’s the plural form of the word platypus?

noun. platy·​pus | \ ˈpla-ti-pəs , -ˌpu̇s \ plural platypuses also platypi\ ˈpla-​ti-​ˌpī , -​ˌpē \

What’s the plural version of platypus?

platypuses
However, given that “platypodes” has for some unfathomable reason never become popular, the dictionary goes on to say that the accepted plural is “platypuses” or (particularly in scientific and conservation contexts) “platypus”.

Why are platypus only found in Australia?

The platypus, found only in Australia is one of the five mammal species of that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. The reason that odd, egg-laying mammals still exist today may be because their ancestors took to the water, scientists now suggest.

What is a female platypus called?

Jill
Platypus were bred in captivity for the first time at Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria. The breeding female (named Jill) was originally brought to the Sanctuary in 1938, after being rescued by two men who found her trudging along a road.

What is the ancestor of the platypus?

It is one of two species of monotreme that live in Australia, the other being the Short-beaked Echidna. The monotremes diverged from other mammals about 166 million years ago and today the platypus is one of the most evolutionarily distinct animals on Earth.

What is the plural of platypus?

However, given that “platypodes” has for some unfathomable reason never become popular, the dictionary goes on to say that the accepted plural is “platypuses” or (particularly in scientific and conservation contexts) “platypus”.

Who came up with the name platypus?

In 1799, the English naturalist George Shaw examined and name the animal the Platypus anatinus, which means flat-footed and bird-like. In the meantime, the German anatomist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, working independently of Shaw, named the animal Ornithorhynchus paradoxus (puzzling bird-billed animal).