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Anatomy: short, dense dark-brown fur. The fur is fine and dense with about eight hundred hairs per square millimeter. There are two layers, a woolly undercoat and a long guard fur on top of that. Together, these two layers trap air, therefore keeping the monotreme dry even after long periods of being under water. The platypus has a 2 inch wide bill, a flat, furry tail and an up to 2 foot long body. The fur on the tail is coarser, bristly, and often a darker brown than the body fur and the burrowing action makes the tail fur more ragged and worn. The flat furry tail stores fat for the long cold winter in freezing waters. Platypus have hairless webbed forefeet which aid in swimming and although the hind feet are also webbed, these are folded back against the tail, except when used for steering and as brakes. The platypus is quite motile on land, but due to the webbing of the forefoot which extends beyond the toes, it carries itself on its knuckles. The size of the platypus varies with location.
 The platypus seems weird to people because it lays eggs and is a mammal, but really it's just a creature that's just very specialized to do what platys do best: swim, eat, and burrow. Living on the banks of bodies of water, the platypus burrows 50 foot long tunnels and uses its webbed feet to doggy-paddle around. The bill is a stream-lined nose and mouth for sniffing and snuffling up pond-bottom delicacies like shrimp!
The platypus closes its eyes and ears underwater (when swimming they are distinguished from other Australian mammals by the absence of visible ears). How does it manage to find its food in the murky depths below? With an amazing touch-sensitive beak. Platypus bills aren't like bird bills; they're soft, flexible cartilage, like the stuff our noses are made of !
Like a duck-billed cowboy, platypus males have spurs on their hind feet that deliver a poisonous venom with a swift kick. A platypus sting is powerful enough to make people sick and kill a dog!
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latypus
