Platypus In New Guinea

[Richyboyo]

Is it generally known in cryptozoology circles that the platypus may once have existed in Papua New Guinea? See here. Sorry about the poor quality,this is a small part of a much longer article,from the

Morning Oregonian of March 24 1933

 

[EnolaGaia]

I suspect this newspaper article is a tongue-in-cheek sports item. Here's why ...

- It's from a 1930's Oregon newspaper.
- It refers to a 'pennant' - the baseball-specific synonym for a championship.
- Portland (Oregon) had a competitive baseball team in the old Pacific Coast League during the 1930's.
- This team was known as the Portland Beaver-Ducks.
- The 'Beaver-Ducks' name derives from the mascots of Oregon's 2 state universities (Oregon Ducks; Oregon State Beavers).

The storied 'Civil War' football rivalry between these 2 schools would later be commemorated with a 'Platypus Trophy' from 1959 onward - illustrating the connection between 'Beaver-Ducks' and a platypus.

 

[Richyboyo]

Thanks EnolaGaia.
Do you think "Beaver Ducks" then were ALWAYS non-cryptozoological or are there any authentic cases of N.American platypus-cryptids?

 

[EnolaGaia]

Thanks EnolaGaia.
Do you think "Beaver Ducks" then were ALWAYS non-cryptozoological or are there any authentic cases of N.American platypus-cryptids?

The notion of "platypus = beaver + duck" is pretty straightforward, given that it looks like a duck in the front and like a beaver in the rear ...

Still, I'm not aware that 'beaver duck' has ever been a colloquial term for a platypus. I've failed to turn up any allusions to 'beaver duck' that:

- aren't modern,
- indicate widespread familiarity with or usage of the phrase,
- aren't somehow associated with the Oregon / Oregon State rivalry, and / or ...
- aren't references to the Portland baseball team.

As to the crypto connection ...

The platypus was originally something of a cryptid, in the sense European zoologists examining the first pelts or specimens from Australia assumed they were manufactured hoaxes.

I don't think I've ever encountered any claims of a cryptid platypus or a cryptid described as platypus-like.

Having said that ...

There are larger versions of today's platypus in the Australian fossil record, and there's at least one extinct platypus-like creature known from South America (Monotrematum sudamericanum).

This leaves the door open for the notion of a relict platypus ancestor / relative as a cryptid.