(1) Like the echidna, an adult platypus has no teeth.(2) The platypus is considered a primitive mammal, yet its bill appears to be highly advanced.(3) But it is the immediate predecessor of modern mammals, such as the platypus and the echidna.(4) From the looks of you, if the gin had taken on the platypus, the platypus would've lost.(5) The mammals the researchers studied were the platypus , echidna, opossum, wallaby, hedgehog, mouse, rat, rabbit, cow, pig, bat, tree shrew, colugo, ringtail lemur, and humans.(6) The platypus and the echidna - a nocturnal, burrowing mammal with a spiny coat, long claws, and no teeth - are the only known living members of a type of animal known as monotremes.(7) Two of the most amazing mammals on Earth are the naked mole-rat and the platypus .(8) The mascots at the Summer 2000 games in Sydney, Australia, were a platypus named Syd, an echidna called Millie, and a kookaburra called Olly.(9) On page 23 the authors state, ÔÇÿThe platypus has a bill like a duck and fur like a mammal, but has never been considered transitional.ÔÇÖ(10) Castorocauda has the ankle spurs characteristic of its nearest living relative, the platypus , which uses them for territorial defense.(11) The egg-laying platypus of Australia is the world's most poisonous mammal.(12) The duckbill platypus is a current member of the ancient monotreme group.(13) Like these higher mammals, the platypus and the echidna also have a jaw composed of a single bone, three inner-ear bones, relatively high metabolic rates, and hair.(14) Perth Zoo is another fine place to see native wildlife, such as the platypus and echidna that were the inspiration for the Olympic mascots.(15) Only four mammals besides the platypus are poisonous (but not lethal to humans).(16) The egg-laying platypus and its cousin, the anteater, along with marsupials, make up the most primitive group of living mammals.
