![]() The venom is not life threatening to humans, but it can cause severe swelling and “excruciating pain.” How smart are platypuses?Ģ. Males have a spur on the back of their hind feet that is connected to a venom-secreting gland. Platypuses are among the few venomous mammals. With the tail of a beaver, and a bill like a duck’s, the platypus is a real ungainly creature. Females seal themselves inside one of the burrow’s chambers to lay their eggs. It is one of only two mammals (the echidna is the other) that lay eggs. What makes the Platypus a unique and interesting mammal? The chicken genome was chosen because it represents a group of egg-laying animals, including extinct reptiles, which passed on much of their DNA to the platypus and other mammals over the course of evolution. They found that the platypus shares 82 percent of its genes with these animals. While milk production and giving birth to live young would seem to go hand in hand, the platypus genome shows that the two common mammalian traits evolved at very different points in evolutionary time. How does evolution explain the platypus?Īs expected, platypus DNA was found to include a number of genes not found in other mammals. And we’ve only begun to discover its wealth of secrets, from life-saving antibiotics in its milk to potential diabetes cures in its venom. ![]() Not only is the platypus an important freshwater carnivore, it is an evolutionary gem, one of the last remaining monotremes-or egg-laying mammals-left on Earth. ![]()
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