Platypus are most active for several hours after dusk and before dawn.
During the day, a Platypus rests in a burrow in the bank of a river or lake, but it may spend some hours near the entrance to the burrow, basking in the sun and grooming its dense fur. Webbing on the front feet extends well beyond the claws, forming large paddles for swimming. The hindfeet of the Platypus are also webbed but are employed in steering or braking - not in propulsion. Dense fur fibres trap a layer of air next to the skin, giving excellent insulation for an animal that spends up to 12 hours each day in water as cold as 0 degrees Celsius. 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.