Science Memes

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Platypuses (mander.xyz)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 70 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

I went down this rathole.

They first grind up the bugs they eat in their mouths, then they have a chamber with bacteria which further reduce their food, then their intestines finish the job.

ETA, since you all are such curious cats:

https://wildlifefaq.com/platypus-stomach/

and

https://platypus.asn.au/platypus-myths/

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 months ago (2 children)

so whats the chamber between the mouth and intestine called?

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 months ago

https://platypus.asn.au/platypus-myths/

The fact is that the platypus’s digestive tract does include a small expanded pouch-like section where one would normally expect a stomach to be located. The platypus’s stomach doesn’t secrete digestive acids or enzymes (Harrop and Hume 1980; Ordoñez et al. 2008), but does produce a mucus-rich fluid to assist nutrient absorption in the intestines (Krause 1971). Following on from the discussion of grinding pads above, it would seem that a platypus masticates food so thoroughly in its mouth that little additional processing is required before food reaches the intestines. Also, because a platypus consumes numerous small prey items over a period of many hours, its stomach doesn’t need to have a large holding capacity to accommodate infrequent large meals.

Sooo, "gullet"?

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 months ago

A pseudo-stomach? IDK...

I think since it's using bacteria and not acid, it's not a "stomach", just performs the same type of function.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

Oh, is it like a gizard type of thing sort of?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for doing so, did you figure out why they glow?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Lol, I think that's only in the cartoon, eh.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Shit your being downvoted, now I have to go look myself.. if I don't return I likely have been abducted by egg laying mammals