Habitat – Range

Duck-Billed Platypus Range

The modern duck-billed platypus is known to have evolved in Australia and Tasmania more than 100,000 years ago.  Although many platypus populations are found within the deciduous forests along the central Eastern Australian coastline, the platypus’ range mainly extends west throughout the tropical rainforest region of Queensland reaching high up into the Australian Alps.  The platypus also inhabits the island state of Tasmania, south of Australia, where some populations occupy the colder highland regions of the island in addition to its rainforest habitat. The duck-billed platypus has also been introduced on the western portion of Kangaroo Island, which is also south of Australia.

Queensland Tropical Rainforest

Although the duck-billed platypus lives in a wide variety of habitat types, it is primarily found in the freshwater lakes and rivers of the Queensland rainforest region.  The Queensland rainforest is part of the Australasian ecozone which includes many Pacific Island groups such as New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and the eastern portion of Indonesia. Rainforests of these areas receive heavy rainfall ranging from 45 to 125 inches per a year which mostly falls in the Southern hemisphere’s summer months from December to March. Temperatures in these tropical rainforests range from 48 – 72 degrees Fahrenheit in the Winter, and 59 – 84 degrees Fahrenheit in the Summer.  Compared to other ecosystems, the Australasian rainforests have little seasonal variation in environmental conditions; hence the duck-billed platypus is a non-hibernating mammal that is active year-round.

Queensland Waterfall

The Queensland tropical rainforests are protected, and have been designated as a Global 200 ecoregion by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF).  The WWF has given this region the highest possible priority for global preservation.  In fact, the entire area was added to the World Heritage list in 1988 guaranteeing that the rainforests will be preserved forever as a living natural laboratory for future generations. The conserved area is one of the largest in the world covering about 12,600 square miles of pristine tropical rainforest along 300 miles of Australia’s northeastern coastline.  The Queensland tropical rainforests are more than 400 million years old, housing more than 3000 different plant species from 210 different families, including many of the oldest primitive flowering plants found only in this region.

Ancient Rainforest Plants

The Queensland tropical rainforests also contain a high diversity of animal species including many marsupials, frogs, reptiles, birds, bats, and freshwater fish. This includes the the most primitive Australian kangaroo, the Lumholtz tree kangaroo; and the world’s largest flightless bird, the Southern Cassowary.

Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo

Southern Cassowary