monotremes
Platypus and echidna
Monotremes are egg-laying mammals—a small group comprising the platypus and echidnas, found only in Australia and New Guinea.
Unlike other mammals, they lay leathery eggs rather than giving live birth, yet still nurse their young with milk.
The term comes from Greek words meaning "single opening," referring to the cloaca used for reproduction and excretion.
Stiff, pointed projections
- pugglePug-beagle hybrid dog
- ant-eaterInsect-eating mammal
- quillsHollow defensive animal spikes
- burrowingDigging to create shelter
termites · snout · nocturnal · insectivorous · keratinous · tongue · digging · solitary
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- duck-billedHaving a flattened beak-like mouth
- venomousProducing injected toxins
- webbedConnected by membrane
- aquaticWater-inhabiting
burrow · spur · freshwater · stream · diving · swimming · sensory · paddle
Reproducing through external eggs
- incubationDevelopment before emergence
- leatheryResembling animal hide
- clutchMechanism linking engine to gearbox
- yolkEgg's nutrient core
brooding · hatchling · nesting · cloaca · reproduction · fertilization · embryo · amniotic
Of milk glands
- milkMammalian nursing fluid
- warm-bloodedInternally temperature-regulated
- furAnimal body hair
- nursingMedical caretaking profession
Age of Reptiles
- CretaceousFinal Mesozoic period
- GondwanaAncient southern supercontinent
- fossilPreserved ancient organism
- ancestralOf one's forebears
basal · prehistoric · Jurassic · paleontology · divergence · ancient · archaic · primitive
Native to one area
- TasmaniaIsland state below Australia
- QueenslandAustralia's northeastern state
- AustraliaSouthern Hemisphere continent-country
- New GuineaOceanian island, split politically
outback · eucalyptus · conservation · wildlife · protected · endangered · Australasia
spines
Stiff, pointed projections
burrowing · termites · snout · nocturnal · insectivorous · keratinous · tongue · digging · solitary
bill
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- duck-billedHaving a flattened beak-like mouth
- venomousProducing injected toxins
- webbedConnected by membrane
aquatic · burrow · spur · freshwater · stream · diving · swimming · sensory · paddle · amphibious
oviparous
Reproducing through external eggs
- incubationDevelopment before emergence
- leatheryResembling animal hide
- clutchMechanism linking engine to gearbox
yolk · brooding · hatchling · nesting · cloaca · reproduction · fertilization · embryo · amniotic · shell
mammary
Of milk glands
- milkMammalian nursing fluid
- warm-bloodedInternally temperature-regulated
- furAnimal body hair
nursing · endothermic · vertebrate · lactation · pouched
Mesozoic
Age of Reptiles
- CretaceousFinal Mesozoic period
- GondwanaAncient southern supercontinent
- fossilPreserved ancient organism
ancestral · basal · prehistoric · Jurassic · paleontology · divergence · ancient · archaic · primitive · lineage
endemic
Native to one area
- TasmaniaIsland state below Australia
- QueenslandAustralia's northeastern state
- AustraliaSouthern Hemisphere continent-country
New Guinea · outback · eucalyptus · conservation · wildlife · protected · endangered · Australasia
- mammal groupsPrimates, Rodentia, marsupials, placentals, pinnipeds
- Australian mammalskangaroos, koalas, wombats, wallabies, echidnas
- Australian wildlifekangaroo, koala, platypus, echidna, wombat
- Cladesmammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects
- mammal evolutionearly mammals, fossil record, diversification, human evolution, Australopithecus
- monotremesplatypus, echidna, duck-billed platypus