Platypuses are exclusively native to Australia. They are also one of nature’s strangest creatures. For starters, a platypus is classified as a mammal because it has fur and feeds its young with milk. But it also lays eggs that hatch. A platypus has a duck-like bill, a beaver-like tail, and webbed feet, and they spend most of their lives underwater. Male platypus also have a venom-filled spur on their hind feet, used as a defensive measure during mating season. When platypuses were first discovered, and a specimen was sent back to England for examination, the scientists thought they were subject to a hoax. They even searched for stitches where the duckbill was attached to the hide.