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Why must platypuses feed in fresh water?
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platypus
The duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), or duckbill, is common in the waterways of eastern Australia.
The platypus must feed in fresh water because its specialized electromechanical navigation system, which it uses to detect the electrical signals of its prey, is only operative in that environment. While the platypus has occasionally been observed swimming in salt water, it relies on this unique sensory system to hunt for bottom-dwelling invertebrates, insects, and crustaceans in rivers, streams, and lakes.1