The platypus is a mammal, though it lacks a trait common to the vast majority of other mammals. Which mammalian trait does the platypus lack?
a. It doesn't produce milk for its young.
b. It doesn't bear live young.
c. It doesn't have a four-chambered heart.
d. It isn't warm-blooded.
The answer is B, it doesn't bear live young!
When the Platypus was first encountered by European naturalists, they were divided over whether the female laid eggs. This was not confirmed until 1884 when W. H. Caldwell was sent to Australia where, after extensive searching assisted by a team of 150 Aborigines, he managed to discover a few eggs. Mindful of the high cost per word of wiring England, Caldwell famously but tersely wired London, "Monotremes oviparous, ovum meroblastic". That is, monotremes lay eggs, and the eggs are similar to those of reptiles in that only part of the egg divides as it develops.
a. It doesn't produce milk for its young.
b. It doesn't bear live young.
c. It doesn't have a four-chambered heart.
d. It isn't warm-blooded.
The answer is B, it doesn't bear live young!
When the Platypus was first encountered by European naturalists, they were divided over whether the female laid eggs. This was not confirmed until 1884 when W. H. Caldwell was sent to Australia where, after extensive searching assisted by a team of 150 Aborigines, he managed to discover a few eggs. Mindful of the high cost per word of wiring England, Caldwell famously but tersely wired London, "Monotremes oviparous, ovum meroblastic". That is, monotremes lay eggs, and the eggs are similar to those of reptiles in that only part of the egg divides as it develops.
Stay curious,
Team ARC
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