The platypus is among nature’s most unlikely animals. In fact, the first scientists to examine a specimen believed they were the victims of a hoax. The animal is best described as a hodgepodge of more familiar species: the duck (bill and webbed feet), beaver (tail) and otter (body and fur).
The platypus, sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal native to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. This remarkable creature is one of the few mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young and it is one of the few species of venomous mammals.
Males platypus have sharp stingers on the heels of their rear feet and can use them to deliver a strong toxic blow to any foe.
Platypuses hunt underwater, where they swim gracefully by paddling with their front webbed feet and steering with their hind feet and beaverlike tail.
Folds of skin cover their eyes and ears to prevent water from entering, and the nostrils close with a watertight seal … so … to hunt for food the platypus closes its eyes, ears and nose and lets its bill do the work.
Source: National Geographic – https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/platypus