Friday, April 30, 2010

Platypus


platypus \ˈpla-ti-pəs\ noun: an egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal of Australia whose males possess a venomous heel spur

Etymology: New Latin, from Greek platypous flat-footed, from platys broad, flat + pous foot

The platyus’s scientific name Ornithorhynchus anatinus literally means “duck-like bird snout.” (You may recognize that word chunk rhyn in other words like rhinoceros (“horny nose”) and rhinoplasty (“molded nose”).

No comments: