A leucistic platypus observed on the New England Tablelands of New South Wales

Louise M. Streeting; Richard Daugherty; Sarah Burrows; Deborah S. Bower; Sandy Watson; Neve Daugherty; Martin L. Dillon

doi:10.1071/AM23027

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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A leucistic platypus observed on the New England Tablelands of New South Wales

Louise M. Streeting

^A ^* , Richard Daugherty ^B , Sarah Burrows ^B , Deborah S. Bower ^A , Sandy Watson ^A , Neve Daugherty ^B and Martin L. Dillon ^A ^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.

^B Independent researcher, Uralla, NSW, Australia.

^C Northern Tablelands Local Land Services, Armidale, NSW, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: louisemstreeting@gmail.com

Handling Editor: Ross Goldingay

Australian Mammalogy 46, AM23027 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM23027

Submitted: 28 May 2023 Accepted: 12 October 2023 Published: 31 October 2023

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Mammal Society. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Genetic mutations resulting in abnormal colouration occur across all vertebrate groups but are considered rare, especially in mammals. Hypo-pigmentary conditions can be separated into albinism, leucism and piebaldism. The impact of colour variation on an animal’s risk of predation and its ability to blend with its surroundings is widely recognised. We report our observations of a white platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) in a tributary of the Gwydir River in the upper reaches of the Murray Darling Basin, New South Wales, Australia. We describe our observations in the context of historical platypus records since 1835.

Keywords: albino, animal colouration, hypo-pigmentation, leucism, monotreme, Murray Darling Basin, Myuchelys bellii, New England Tablelands, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, white platypus.

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