An Australian icon, the platypus is struggling — and scientists still lack answers

Mongabay
May 19, 2026, 10:16 pm87 ptsTrending
The platypus is an evolutionary anomaly. This duck-billed, semiaquatic mammal is both unique and rare. It’s just one of five egg-laying mammals on the planet. It nurses its young. And it also has reptilian traits: It has a cloaca, maintains a low body temperature (32° Celsius, or 90° Fahrenheit) and males…

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