The Platypus: The Weirdest Animal on this Pale Blue Dot

Better Than Human

The platypus is one of (or is) the weirdest animals on this planet. With its beaver-like tail, otter-like fur, and duck-like bill, the platypus looks like someone took leftover animal parts and sewed them together to make a hoax.
When the first platypus arrived in England European scientists thought they were looking at a hoax, and we don’t blame them. If someone handed us a platypus with no context, we’d probably assume it was the jackalope of Australia.
This Monotreme (a special group of mammals that were made just for the platypus and echidnas), is an egg-laying, venomous, lizard-walking, stomach-less, nipple-less and toothless animal with biofluorescent fur. It also spends twelve hours a day hunting in murky water using electroreception. We told you it was weird. This bizarre animal's DNA reflects the animal; primitive and unchanged, a strange mix of bird, reptile, and mammalian genes.
The platypus is an odd in-between mammal, and its genome is a bridge to our own evolutionary past. Listen now to learn more.
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