Food is masticated between horny plates located on each jaw. Male platypuses have a sharp spur attached to each ankle. A platypus feeds primarily on aquatic crustaceans, insect larvae, and some plants. Duck-billed platypuses live in burrows along the banks of water, including lakes, rivers, and even mountain streams. They have well-developed claws, but these are not as large as the claws of echidnas .
Platypuses are excellent diggers.
There is no pouch, and the mother curls her body around the eggs to keep them warm. Young are nursed for about five months. L. C. Drickamer, S. H. Vessey, and J. F. Merritt. Adaptation, Diversity, and Ecology. WCB McGraw-Hill, Boston.