The platypus's overlapping characteristics with other classes are likely evolutionary leftovers. They split from the line leading to placental mammals - which incluides humans - around 166 million years ago. Monotremes are not direct relatives of birds and reptiles, but they are often considered the most basal of all mammals. Mammals split from birds and reptiles around 315 million years ago. The overlapping features has led some scientists to consider whether the platypus actually represents a missing link between reptiles and mammals.Īmniotes are the common ancestor of all mammals, birds and reptiles. When it comes to internet humor, animal photos are the new cats meow. Monotremes are, notably, egg-laying mammals that produce milk for their young. The platypus was ultimately placed into a new order called Monotremata, alongside the four living species of echidna. This meant that certain distinguishing features, such as mammary glands, were not obvious. The platypus was initially a challenge to classify due to the number of specimens available in Europe that were either incomplete or preserved. Birds are also warm-blooded but lay eggs, and reptiles are cold-blooded egg-layers that rely on the Sun or another heat source to warm them up.

Strange water marsupial with duck beak and flat fin tail. To simply separate the orders, mammals are warm-blooded, give birth to live young and feed them milk. Platypus - Ornithorhynchus anatinus, duck-billed platypus, semiaquatic egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. When it was discovered, the platypus was difficult to classify, bearing characteristics of mammals, reptiles and birds. This hybrid name was accepted in accordance with the rules of priority when classifying animals with scientific names. The animal later became recognised as Ornithorhynchus anatinus, meaning bird-snouted flat-foot. So in 1803 Johann Friedrich Blumenbach published another description of the animal under the name Ornithorhynchus paradoxus - 'paradoxical bird-snout'. However, Platypus was already in use as the name of a genus of wood-boring ambrosia beetles. Browse 781 platypus photos and images available, or search for duck-billed platypus or platypus australia to find more great photos and pictures. In 1799 he was the first to scientifically describe it, assigning it the species name Platypus anatinus, meaning flat-footed duck. George Shaw, keeper of the natural history collections at the British Museum (which were to later become the Natural History Museum), accepted the platypus as a real animal. But the platypus, as it was soon realised, was not among these. The platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus ), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The nineteenth century saw a number of hoax animals on display, such as P T Barnum's Fiji (Feejee) Mermaid and Albert Koch's Missouri Leviathan.

Picture of platypus animal