Platypi

Have you heard this week's word, platypi, before?  If not, you probably have heard this plural noun's singular form -- platypus.  (The word platypuses can also used when talking about two or more of these animals, but I prefer platypi!)

From Visual Dictionary: Animals,
by Weldon Owen, 2004

Platypi are very unusual creatures from Australia and Tasmania.  Mammals that lay eggs, platypi have bills and webbed feet like ducks, along with flat tails and brown fur like beavers.  They are also one of the few venomous mammals in the world -- male platypi have spurs on their hind feet that can deliver poisons strong enough to kill small animals and seriously injure humans.  (They are not vicious creatures, however.  The spurs are used mainly for defense.)  Platypi eat worms and cannot see very well.

I first heard the word platypi from my son Nick, animal expert.  Then, a couple of years ago, it became one of my daughter's favorite words, and it was heard quite often around our house.  Recently, I've been working on a platypi poem... but it's not finished yet.

I would love to travel to Australia
and see platypi in the wild!

What kinds of sentences can you think up, using the word platypi?