Lectura en inglés para niños: 10 amazing facts about platypuses

Te invitamos a leer 10 datos asombrosos sobre los ornitorrincos: 10 amazing facts about platypuses. Una lectura muy divertida e interesante para niños de Primaria, de la mano de la revista para aprender inglés I Love English Junior (ILEJ 121 (enero-febrero 2022).

Los niños conocerán datos curiosos mamíferos. Además, aprenderán nuevo vocabulario y practicarán la lectura en inglés.

Ver +: Lecturas para niños en inglés

10 amazing facts about platypuses: Lectura en inglés para niños

1. The platypus is one of the most unlikely animals found in nature. Some of its rare features includes webbed feet, bill of a duck, the tail of a beaver and the body and fur of an otter.

2. The platypus is a mammal, but it lays eggs. Along with the echidna ? which also lives in Australia ? it is the only animal that does this.

3. The platypus was once large as a dog, but the version that exists today is comparable in size to a house cat.

4. Platypuses feed their young through lactation, but in a very different way. They can?t lactate through their nipples as they don?t have. Instead, the platypus secretes milk via pores throughout the skin.

5. Platypus babies are born with teeth, but they do not last long as they drop out while the mammal is still young. For this reason, the platypus eats gravel ? so that it can chew food.

6. Although it has no teeth, the platypus is completely carnivorous. It finds food under water ? molluscs, insects, snakes, larvae and worms. The platypus has to eat around 20% of its own weight every day, so it spends about twelve hours a day looking for food. 

7. The platypus uses electric fields to locate objects, catch prey and "see". This is called "electrolocation". These electric fields are created via muscle contractions.

8. The platypus is an excellent swimmer thanks to its flat head and flat body. It spends a lot of time in the water. When it?s not swimming, it goes and rests in its burrow on the riverbank.

9. Males have venom in their hind feet. They sting to defend themselves. The venom is powerful enough to kill small animals. It is not lethal for humans, but it is very painful. 

10. The platypus does not have a stomach and does not need one either. Instead, it simply uses its esophagus and intestines to digest. This is because platypuses don?t include any food items that need complex digestion.