The Platypus.

Miniature c.19th hand coloured engraving of a pair of platypuses.

Common names: Platypus, duck-billed Platypus
Binomial name: Ornithorhynchus anatinus
First described: Shaw 1799
Distribution: SA, VIC, TAS, NSW, QLD

The first description and known sighting was from a captured animal in November 1797 by David Collins on the Hawkesbury River. When the first skin sent by John Hunter, reached Europe it was thought to be a hoax and during the nineteenth century is was suspected that it lay eggs, but it was not until 1884 that final proof was obtained.