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Duck-Billed Platypus

Duck-Billed Platypus line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Duck-Billed Platypus illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

The Duck-Billed Platypus was completed on 4.26.2011. After a few requests, and my own desire to draw this (and add to my Australian animal image library) finally was able to create this drawing. What a odd animal! A mammal, yet it lays eggs and has a bill like a duck. As this wasn't enough, the platypus is poisonous! It was a pleasure to draw and I'm happy with the way the fur turned out. The drawing is based on a photo by Mark Jekabsons

Information about the Duck-Billed Platypus:

The Platypus - or 'Duck-Billed' Platypus, is a small, semi-aquatic mammal native to the small streams and rivers of the eastern coasts of Australia. It can be found from the highlands of Tasmania and the Australian Alps, to the lush tropical rainforests of coastal Queensland, and north to the base of the Cape York Peninsula. It is a type of echinda, and one of only five living monotremes (which are mammals that lay eggs.) When the first specimen of this animal was brought to Europe from Australia, it was greeted with a mix of amazement and skepticism - with some observers going to far as to declare it a hoax. But of course eventually it was proved to be a real animal. On top of being one of the few mammals that lay eggs, it also has the distinction of also being venomous. The male of the species has a sharp spur on the hind foot that can deliver a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans, although it is generally not fatal.