this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2024
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Science Memes

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Platypuses (mander.xyz)
submitted 1 month ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 51 points 1 month ago (2 children)

No stomach?! Does food go straight to the colon?

[–] perishthethought@lemm.ee 72 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month 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/

[–] HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com 16 points 1 month ago (2 children)

so whats the chamber between the mouth and intestine called?

[–] perishthethought@lemm.ee 31 points 1 month 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"?

[–] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today 28 points 1 month 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.

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 12 points 1 month ago

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

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

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

[–] perishthethought@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

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

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month 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

[–] 100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 50 points 1 month ago

Yes, platypuses lost their stomach during evolution, so they basically grind food using gravel and their beak before sending it to the intestine, which has taken on some of the functions performed by stomachs in other animals. Source