The platypus, a native of eastern Australia, is a puzzling creature with features from birds, mammals, and reptiles. Male ...

The platypus was ultimately placed into a new order called Monotremata, alongside the four living species of echidna. Monotremes are, notably, egg-laying mammals that produce milk for their young. The ...

University of Adelaide researchers discovered monotremes use a completely different sex determination system than other ...

Platypuses may have some duck-like characteristics, but they are a rare type of mammal called a monotreme. Monotremes differ from other mammals because they lay eggs instead of giving birth.

As if its combined anatomical attributes weren’t special enough, careful study over time has proven that the unassuming platypus has even more unusual features than would have been obvious when the ...

A new study suggests the platypus and echidna — the only egg-laying mammals — had a water-dwelling ancestor. The finding could upend what’s known of their evolution.

Platypuses only live naturally in eastern Australia and Tasmania, and there are an estimated 300,000 left in the world. In dammed rivers, they are divided into small, genetically distinct groups ...

Outliers among mammals, monotremes lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Only two types of monotremes, the platypus and echidna, still exist, but more monotreme species were around about ...

Platypuses spend a good portion of their lives in the water. When that water dries up, not only do they need to find new ...

A new study suggests the platypus and echidna — the only egg-laying mammals — had a water-dwelling ancestor. The finding could upend what’s known of their evolution.