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The presence of the probable stem-ornithorhynchids Dharragarra and Patagorhynchus in the Late Cretaceous implies that the divergence between the platypus and echidnas may have occurred during this time. [1] However, genetic estimates tend to prefer a Cenozoic divergence between these two extant groups. [3] [4]
The Ornithorhynchidae / ɔːr ˌ n ɪ θ ə ˈ r ɪ ŋ k ɪ d iː / are one of the two extant families in the order Monotremata, and contain the platypus and its extinct relatives. The other family is the Tachyglossidae, or echidnas.
The echidna spurs are vestigial and have no known function, while the platypus spurs contain venom. [42] Molecular data show that the main component of platypus venom emerged before the divergence of platypus and echidnas, suggesting that the most recent common ancestor of these taxa was also possibly a venomous monotreme. [43]
Platypus venom is entirely different from other venomous creatures. While more research is needed, scientists believe it contains specific proteins that target the nervous system. Heptapeptide 1 ...
Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) Family Tachyglossidae Genus Tachyglossus (short-beaked echidna) Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) Genus Zaglossus (long-beaked echidnas) Western long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijnii) Eastern long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bartoni) Sir David's long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi)
Short-beaked echidnas feeds mainly on termites and ants, which live in nests in dry areas; the nest interiors are presumably humid enough for electroreception to work. [39] Experiments have shown that echidnas can be trained to respond to weak electric fields in water and moist soil. The electric sense of the echidna is hypothesised to be an ...
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), [4] sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, [5] is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family Ornithorhynchidae and genus Ornithorhynchus , though a number of related species ...
"He wouldn't let me go inside. And he choked me (unintelligible) in the hallway," she said. "He blocked the door so I couldn't go inside, and when I did go inside, he chased me upstairs.