Platypus
A monotreme found that's found in eastern Australia and Tasmania. When the skin of a young platypus was sent to Britain for examination in 1798, scientists thought it was a fake. The zoologist George Shaw (1751-1813), who worked at the British museum, even checked it for stitches, believing that it had been sewn together from parts of other animals (you can still see the scissor marks that he made on the pelt today). However, these creatures have been proven to be real. With a beaver-like tail, duckbill, flippers, and spiky fur, these must surely win the award for being one of Australia's strangest creatures.
The platypus is one of the world's few poisonous mammals. When trouble strikes, it squirts venom out through a hollow spur on its ankle (only males carry poison and they're more likely to use it on other males during the breeding season than on people).
Platypus by Nordicdragon June 27, 2018
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