Wilson, Ph.D., director of The Genome Center at Washington University and the paper’s senior author. “The fascinating mix of features in the platypus genome provides many clues to the function and evolution of all mammalian genomes,” said Richard K. Males possess hind leg spurs that can deliver pain-inducing venom to its foes competing for a mate or territory during the breeding season. One of only two mammals that lays eggs, the platypus also sports a duck-like bill that holds a sophisticated electrosensory system used to forage for food underwater. The platypus, classified as a mammal because it produces milk and is covered in fur, also possesses features of reptiles, birds and their common ancestors, along with some curious attributes of its own. The mammal has features of reptiles, birds and their common ancestors as well as some unique attributes.
School of Medicine researchers have sequenced the duck-billed platypus genome. An analysis of the genome, published in the journal Nature, can help scientists piece together a more complete picture of the evolution of all mammals, including humans. Important, timely and written with humour and wisdom by a scientist and self-described platypus nerd, this celebration of Australian wildlife will open eyes and change minds about how we contemplate and interact with the natural world – everywhere.The duck-billed platypus: part bird, part reptile, part mammal - and the genome to prove it.Īn international consortium of scientists, led by the School of Medicine, has decoded the genome of the platypus, showing that the animal’s peculiar mix of features is reflected in its DNA. He also reveals the toll these myths can take.Īshby makes it clear that calling these animals ‘weird’ or ‘primitive’ – or incorrectly implying that Australia is an ‘evolutionary backwater’ – a perception that can be traced back to the country's colonial history – has undermined conservation: Australia now has the worst mammal extinction rate of anywhere on Earth. Informed by his own experiences meeting living marsupials and egg-laying mammals on fieldwork in Tasmania and mainland Australia, as well as his work with thousands of zoological specimens collected for museums over the last 200-plus years, Ashby's tale not only explains the extraordinary lives of these animals, but the historical mysteries surrounding them and the myths that persist (especially about the platypus). In Platypus Matters: The Extraordinary Story of Australian Mammals(U Chicago Press, 2022), naturalist Jack Ashby shares his love for these often-misunderstood animals. But how does the world regard these creatures? And what does that mean for their conservation? Platypuses, possums, wombats, echidnas, devils, kangaroos, quolls, dibblers, dunnarts, kowaris: Australia has some truly astonishing mammals with incredible, unfamiliar features. Or a wombat: their teeth never stop growing, they poo cubes and they defend themselves with reinforced rears. Think of a platypus: they lay eggs (that hatch into so-called platypups), they produce milk without nipples and venom without fangs and they can detect electricity.