# The platypus, a strange creature indeed... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 14, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704 "2003-04-14T19:05:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![phraser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a88e4f/32.png) [@phraser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phraser)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/21 "2003-04-15T12:20:49Z")
[hijack] what is the correct plural for platypus? I see a lot of people are using platypi/platypii, but I was under the impression that platypoda was more correct, _poda_ being the plural of _pus_. Does anyone have educated insight? [/hijack] Platypus venom is not life-threatening AFAIK, just painful. It would be very hard to get enough venom in the first place to create an antivenene, let alone go into regular production. Platypus sting is very, very rare. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/22 "2003-04-15T12:26:15Z")
plat·y·pus ( P ) Pronunciation Key (plt-ps) n. pl. plat·y·pus·es ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/23 "2003-04-15T12:31:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by phraser \* > **what is the correct plural for platypus?** Merriam-Webster says: Main Entry: **platy·pus** Pronunciation: 'pla-ti-p&s, -"pus Function: _noun_ Inflected Form(s): _plural_ **platy·pus·es** _also_ **platy·pi** /-"pI, -"pE/ Etymology: New Latin, from Greek _platypous_ flat-footed, from _platys_ broad, flat + _pous_ foot – more at PLACE, FOOT Date: 1799 **:** a small carnivorous aquatic oviparous mammal (_Ornithorhynchus anatinus_) of eastern Australia and Tasmania that has a fleshy bill resembling that of a duck, dense fur, webbed feet, and a broad flattened tail ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/24 "2003-04-15T12:35:26Z")
The [Macquarie Dictionary](http://www.macquariedictionary.com.au:8008/anonymousFFC11630715+2/-/macshowrecord/1/2) (i.e., the one that counts, here) says: > [@](#): > > **platypus** _noun_ (_plural_ - **puses** ) an amphibious, egg-laying monotreme, _Ornithorhynchus anatinus_, of mainland Australia and Tasmania, 45-60 cm in total length, having webbed feet and a muzzle like the bill of a duck; duckbill. [New Latin, from Greek: broad-footed] > **Usage:** The ending -_pus_ is a Latinised form of Greek _pous_ foot, the plural of which is _podes_. Thus there is no etymological justification for the plural _platypi_, though this form is sometimes used. The English plural _platypuses_ is more regular and widely accepted. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/25 "2003-04-15T12:57:45Z")
> [@](#): > > “Give me a platypus, and while you’re at it, give me another one.” Gotta agree with the folks who argue “-podes”. After all, the proper plural for _octopus_ is _octopuses_ or _octopodes_, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. _Not_ “octopi”, although that’s commonly used. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/26 "2003-04-15T13:24:31Z")
Alice in Wonderland said, “Damn. (I love platypi).” I believe that’s pronounced, “platypous” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/27 "2003-04-15T13:46:38Z")
Since platypus and octopus were artificially created to be used in English, shouldn’t we be able to pluralize them any way that would work in English? It’s illogical to use a Latin method to pluralize a work of Greek origin, but _-puses_ should be acceptable – I don’t see any requirement for _-podes_. Any number of words have been absorbed into English from a variety of sources. Originally they may have followed the source languages’ conventions, but eventually there’s no need to perpetuate them. Isn’t that why we say ‘noodles’ instead of ‘Nudeln’? In any case, dictionaries reflect current usage, even where the usage is technically incorrect or unorthodox. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/28 "2003-04-15T14:19:08Z")
So what other interesting monotremes show up in the fossil record? Is there a way of determining a fossil monotreme? ---
**Author:** ![booka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@booka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booka)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/29 "2003-04-15T14:57:37Z")
There is a platypus living in my house. He’s a stuffed animal, but nevertheless, he’s here, and he’s spooky. He turns up unannounced in places he shouldn’t be. We think he’s evil. He’s a platypus gone bad. He mocks us with his glaring gaze, and makes us feel as though he’s plotting our demise. His eyes are glassy and cold. He hides things. We’ve never been able to warm up to him, and now it’s taken a turn for the worse. It appears that he’s got our stuffed pheasant on his side. This gives us pause, and worries us. A palpable tension permeates the air, mixed with unmistakeable platy-smell, and the stench of lunchmeats. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/30 "2003-04-15T15:05:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Earl Snake-Hips Tucker \* > \*\*So what other interesting monotremes show up in the fossil record? > > Is there a way of determining a fossil monotreme? \*\* I’m sure **Darwin’s Finch** will be able to give you a proper answer, but in the meantime [this site](http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/monotremefr.html) mentions distinctive teeth as evidence. I’ve also read that they only have one lower jaw bone instead of two. ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/31 "2003-04-15T15:43:59Z")
G’day George Bernard Shaw once complained that to use ‘octopi’ betrays an ignorance of three languages: 1. Greek, because ‘octopus’ is Greek, and the Greek plural of ‘pous’ is ‘podes’; 2. Latin, because in Latin ‘foot’ is “ped” not “pous”; 3. and English, because in English the pural is “octopuses”. The linguistic situation for “platypus” is a direct parallel. But on the other hand, George Bernard Shaw was a snide and eccentric old pedant whatever animal you are talking about. By the way, I have seen platypuses a few times, busying about in creeks. There has been a considerably recovering in their numbers hereabouts, since landowners have started building fences to keep their stock off sections of creek-bank so that the platypuses can dig their burrows in safety. And my brother and a few of his neighbours have put a lot of work over twenty years into rehabilitating their creek, restoring the vegetation and soil on the banks. It is fairly easy to show a tourist a pltypus up there now: they are numerous and quite active. Regards, Agback ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/32 "2003-04-15T15:56:57Z")
That’s a proper enough answer. **everton**. A variety of other skeletal features common to monotremes can be found [here](http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/chordata/mammalia/monotremata.html). Fossil specimens, of course, would be determined to be montremes on the basis of these skeletal features. The fossil record of monotremes is relatively poor. Aside from a couple other species assigned to the genera I mentioned previously, there are also a few specimens of _Zaglossus hacketti_, the “giant echidna”. All in all, the group has never been particularly diverse, and has been remarkably conservative in terms of morphology over their 150 million-year history. And now for something completely diffrent: [Everything you ever wanted to know about the sleep patterns of the platypus](http://www.npi.ucla.edu/sleepresearch/Platypus/P98plans.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/33 "2003-04-15T16:35:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Agback \* > \*\* > But on the other hand, George Bernard Shaw was a snide and eccentric old pedant \*\* …and thereby perfect Straght Dope material! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/34 "2003-04-15T17:08:18Z")
From what I’ve read, the platypus seems to be unique in that its venom is designed not for immobilizing prey or for self-defense, but for inflicting pain on other platypuses when they fight during mating season. This is why only the male platypus has the venomous spurs, and it also means that getting stung by a platypus is a lot more painful than most animal envenomations are, because the venom has evolved specifically to induce as much pain as possible by direct nerve stimulation. That’s probably why traditional opioid pain medications like morphine don’t do much to relieve the pain of platypus venom; the only way to provide significant pain relief is apparently to do a complete nerve block. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2003, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704/35 "2003-04-15T17:43:04Z")
…And that’s the story of Oedipus. (I’d rather marry a duck-billed platypus) Than end up like old Oedipus Rexxxxxxxxxxx! – Tom Lehrer, “Oedipus Rex”, who gets lotsa points for rhyming “Oedipus” with “platypus”, in my book. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-platypus-a-strange-creature-indeed/168704.md?page=1)