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All about… platypus

A Question Hidden in the Platypus Genome: Are We the Weird Ones? From The New York Times When the British zoologist George Shaw first encountered a platypus specimen in 1799, he was so befuddled that he checked for stitches, thinking someone might be trying to trick him with a Frankencreature. It’s hard to blame him: What other animal has a rubbery bill, ankle spikes full of venom, luxurious fur that glows under black light and a tendency to lay eggs? Centuries later, we’re still...

Glum future! The platypus

The platypus – Scientists say the risk of local extinctions is rising due to damaged waterways, land clearing and climate change – the Guardian reports It is dusk beside a creek and we are instructed to look for a trail of bubbles, under which could be one of the world’s weirdest mammals. When you’re desperate to see a platypus in the fading light, everything looks like one. Floating logs from bank-side paperbark trees, gyrating leaves caught in a dance with...