Platypuses found in Sydney's Hills District for first time in 25 years

August 7, 2023 11:48 PM

Platypuses found in Sydney's Hills District for first time in 25 years. An ecologist says she's surprised the elusive monotremes are surviving so close to residents and urban development.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (14 comments total)

Alright!!

I've seen a few echidnas (also monotremes) in the wild, but only ever one platypus. Special animals.
posted by freethefeet at 1:23 AM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

Last I saw a platypus in the wild was on King Island (same trip for echidnas, actually).

I wonder if the general rule-of-thumb that individuals get smaller the further North you go (a Victorian koala would kick the shit out of a Queensland koala, if it could be arsed - which would be a definite no) - because every time I see a platypus my first thought is “oh, right, they’re smaller than you think…”.
posted by pompomtom at 1:37 AM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

Also: Yay!
posted by pompomtom at 1:37 AM on August 8, 2023

Hooray! This is such good news. Go little plattys!
posted by harriet vane at 4:14 AM on August 8, 2023 [3 favorites]

I hope they outlast us. May the platypuses inherit the earth.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:46 AM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

{does this OP's handle count as eponysterical?} Anyway, love those puppies...
posted by Mngo at 8:29 AM on August 8, 2023

puss, puss, puss, puss...
You go, you little venomous bugger!
posted by BlueHorse at 11:34 AM on August 8, 2023

Well sir there’s nothing on earth
Like a genuine bona fide
Milk-makin egg-layin monotreme
posted by Jon Mitchell at 2:12 PM on August 8, 2023 [3 favorites]

Platypi, surely.
posted by chavenet at 2:25 PM on August 8, 2023

Squee! I love their almost motorized waddle on land, and then they become the water when they are in it: they are fluid, completely.
posted by scruss at 2:40 PM on August 8, 2023 [3 favorites]

Very cool to see urban stream ecology news on Metafilter! Thank you!
posted by hydropsyche at 4:56 PM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

this gives me so much fucking hope.
posted by PinkMoose at 6:02 PM on August 8, 2023 [1 favorite]

So very encouraging and wonderful news.
posted by neonamber at 10:25 PM on August 8, 2023

Platypi, surely.

/me mounts hobby-horse, and wonders what happened to languagehat.

Greek root, so applying a latin plural is weird. If you want to go to the source it’s “platypodes” (as with “octopodes”).

I have been harangued by descriptivists (including actual linguists) who say “platypi is fine because people understand what you mean”.

I have also been harangued by a Classics professor who’s quite fluent with the Latin and Greek and they say “Well, it’s English now, because English steals all the words.” and insists on “platypuses”.

So I say “platypodes”, because I’m an arse.

Though the descriptivists aren’t allowed to disagree with me! Bwahahahhaaaaaa!
posted by pompomtom at 7:22 AM on August 9, 2023 [2 favorites]