Secrets of the Platypus revealed
8/5/08
Scientists seeking to solve the riddle of the platypus have proved it is the first animal to have evolved from reptile to mammal and has the characteristics of both. One of the oddest creatures in nature, the semi-aquatic platypus is an egg-laying mammal which produces milk and has fur, has a bill like a duck and venom like a snake, flowing from a spur under its hind feet. It is so strange that when the first stuffed specimens arrived in Europe at the end of the 18th century, biologists believed they were looking at a taxidermist’s hoax, a composite stitched together from the body of a beaver and the snout of a giant duck. But now, in what is considered a milestone for Australian genetics, an international team of 100 researchers, including 26 from Australia, have mapped out the full set of chromosomes of the platypus.
See; http://news.theage.com.au/secrets-of-the-platypus-revealed/20080508-2c2x.html
Tags: Australia, Environment