The Duck Billed Platypus What is it?

This is the majestic Platypus

Introduction: The Duck Billed Platypus is a mammal native to eastern Australia. It is a very distinct animal, with its webbed toes and distinct bill. It is the only mammal with a bill, and also one of two mammals that lays eggs. The platypus may have first apperead 50 million years ago. They live in wetlands, a mix of dry and water.

Domain: Eukarya Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Monotremata Family: Ornithorhynchidae Genus: Ornithorhynchus

Morphological Evidence: The Platypus is very closely related to the Echidna . This family of animals is called the Ornithological. Both the Echidna and the platypus are mammals that lay eggs, and both can submerge and live on land. Scroll down, and notice the beak the echidna and the platypus share. They are about 80% the same on a molecular level

Homologous structures: The Platypus has several Homologous structures that it inherited from very distant ancestors like the obduron. For example, the modern platypus has teeth, but they fall out in a very short time, since the platypus does not need them. A homologous structure that they have is also the bill, because in an animal like a duck, they do not use electricity to find food like the platypus does

Vestigial Structures: The platypus has a vestigial structure that may have been used a very long time ago, but has since been replaced. The Teeth! Nowadays, when Platypi eat, they pick up gravel at the same time to grind up their food. Scroll down to see the teeth

Transitional Fossils: The oldest known ancestor of the platypus is called the Obduron and existed about 110 million years ago in the Cretaceous era, and looked almost exactly the same as a modern platypus. Modern Day platypi don't have the teeth, and it is hypothesized that the Obduron doesn't have the ability to "sense" movement under water the way platypi can.

Comparative Embryology: With the Embryo below, you can clearly see the distinct shape of the platypus, and even the beak forming. › Animals › Mammals › Egg-Laying Mammals

This is the echinda and it is the closet relative to the platypus

This is the embryo of a platypus

this is only known ancestor of a platypus, the obduron


Created with images by robertpaulyoung - "Duck Billed Platypus" • maveric2003 - "Platypus" • Miguel Mendez - "Platypus" • PsJeremy - "A Rare Platypus in the Yarra at Bulleen just below the suspension bridge" • robertpaulyoung - "Echidna" • maveric2003 - "Platypus"

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