The Giant Platypus is a species of egg-laying vertebrates native to Dalarnas' End. Considered calm and easy to handle, they are present on numerous farms in humid areas of the largely agricultural planet.
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Etymology
The strong resemblance with Ornithorhynchus anatinus, commonly known as platypus, gave the creature its name. Even though the genetic profiles are very different and not comparable to any animal from earth even loosely related to the original platypus.
Evolution and Subspecies
Giant Platypus evolved to survive in a wide variety of environments as long as they have a relatively humid climate or large bodies of fresh water in easy access. They have been spotted in tropical and subtropical forests near swamps, rivers, or lakes but also in very temperate climates in boreal regions. Subspecies living in boreal regions near the poles have been observed to often practice hibernation during dryer months of the year. For this they bury themselves in small caves or dig out burrows near river banks, which they fill with wet plants and mud to preserve a moist environment in them while they hibernate. Other types of subspecies include specialized defense mechanisms in certain areas, like hardened hairy spikes used against large predatory animals. These variants appear only in relatively isolated ecosystems and are usually targeted against specific predators coexisting in the same region, indicating that the Giant Platypus and its predators have been existed in stabile ecosystems on the planet for at least several million years.
Physical Characteristics
Aside from their bodylength of up to 250cm (8ft 2in), their overall body very closely resembles that of platypus from earth. They usually sport a flat and wide bill, a flat tail covered in dark fur. Their underside and inner legs on the other hand resemble more that of a water based reptile, as large scales replace the fur, probably a development due to a mostly crouching movement style. Their feet are also scaly and have rather large claws with no webbing to speak of, indicating a non water-based origin of the species. They are not particularly fast but enduring swimmers, with a generally relatively slow moving lifestyle.
Behavioral Characteristics
Their slow lifestyles are matched with an equally calm and temperate conduct. They often don't seem to mind other animals or humans im their immediate surroundings, which goes as far a just ignoring them completely. Physical harm or strong pushing might get them to move, albeit very slowly.
The only times they have been seen moving rather quick or with aggression is when facing one of their natural predators. Very distinct sounds in specific spectrums mimicking said predators also has been shown effective to stirr up action within a group of otherwise calm individuals.
Diet and Enemies
It has been observed that five segmented insectiods with a flat and wide body structure and bodylengths of up to 50cm (19,7in) actively hunt isolated or weakend/sick individuals by gliding down on them very quietly from high tree branches.
At least in their native forested swamp areas. In regions cultivated by humans, they pretty much lack any major predators as the insectiods have not been seen outside densely grown woods. Therefore the colonists have to hunt them to keep their populations in check.
The members of this species are omnivores, comparable to pigs or other sus from Earth, making the effect they could have on cultivated farmlands and ecologies even more devastating than would numbers alone.
Relationship with Humans
Due to their generally calm behavior and numerous advantageous traits have made them a real staple in Star Trading Conglomerate livestock farming. They are farmed for their meat, water resistant undercoat whool, milk and unhatched eggs, making them very popular with local farmers since the first colonists found populations of them emerging on freshly watered rice fields.