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Why do male platypuses fight during the breeding season?
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platypus
The duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), or duckbill, is common in the waterways of eastern Australia.
Male platypuses fight during the breeding season to compete for access to mates. During these encounters, males use sharp spurs located on the inner side of each ankle to inflict wounds on one another. These spurs are connected to a venom gland, and the fighting is a manifestation of the intense competition between males to secure reproductive opportunities.12