What does platypus mean?
Word: Platypus
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Platypus means a small furry animal from eastern Australia with a flat bill like a duck's, webbed feet and a wide tail. It lives in rivers and lays eggs.
How do you spell platypus?
Syllables: plat - y - pus
Tricky part: The middle letter is y, not i: platipus is the usual slip.
Watch out for: platipus, platapus
Memory tip: The name comes from Greek words for "flat foot", and the Greek word for flat ends in a y. Keep that y in the middle.
Platypus in a sentence
Example 1: We watched a video of a platypus diving for worms in a muddy creek.
Example 2: Neel's project on Australian animals had a clay platypus on the cover.
Example 3: A platypus closes its eyes and ears when it swims underwater.
Fun Fact
The male platypus has a sharp spur on each back ankle that can inject venom, which is very unusual for a mammal.
Practise the CREST Way
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
tuplasyp
a) a small bird that can fly backwards
b) a shy river mammal that hatches its young from eggs
c) a sea animal with eight long arms
d) a large African animal with a long neck
Show answer
b) a shy river mammal that hatches its young from eggs. Rearranged, the eight letters spell platypus.
Word Champ
Which of these statements are true?
1. An adult platypus has no teeth. 2. A platypus can breathe underwater. 3. A platypus stores fat in its tail.
a) only 2 and 3 are true
b) all three are true
c) only 1 and 3 are true
d) only 1 is true
Show answer
c) only 1 and 3 are true. Adult platypuses grind food with hard pads instead of teeth and keep fat in the tail, but like all mammals they must come up to breathe, so statement 2 is false.
Spellacadabra
Choose the misspelt word:
a) plattypus
b) pelican
c) kangaroo
d) octopus
Show answer
a) plattypus. Octopus, pelican and kangaroo are correct; platypus has only one t.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) child : children
b) platypus : platypusses
c) cactus : cacti
d) mouse : mice
Show answer
b) platypus : platypusses. These are singular and plural pairs; the plural of platypus adds -es with no doubled s: platypuses.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A platypus shuts its eyes and ears underwater. How does it still find food?
a) by smelling the water with its tail
b) by following other river animals
c) by listening with its webbed feet
d) by sensing tiny movements with its bill
Show answer
d) by sensing tiny movements with its bill
2. Which part of a platypus looks most like a beaver's?
a) its flat tail
b) its webbed feet
c) its bill
d) its small eyes
Show answer
a) its flat tail
