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”).
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