The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi-aquatic mammal found in eastern Australia and Tasmania. It is one of only three monotreme species in the world, laying eggs instead of giving birth to live young. br/br/The Platypus has a bill that resembles a duck's bill but is actually an elongated snout covered with soft, moist, leathery skin and sensitive nerve endings.The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, with some considering it an elaborate fraud.