That is to say, it’s an evolutionary mish-mash, sharing milk genes with mammals, and some egg-laying genes with birds and reptiles, reports Carly Cassella for Science Alert. Initial analyses suggest the genes reflect exactly what would be expected from a creature that looks like a duck crossed with a beaver. Zhang adds that the genomes of these two monotremes “hold the key” to figuring out why humans and our mammalian kin give birth to live young instead of laying eggs. “At the same time, decoding the genome for platypus is important for improving our understanding of how other mammals evolved-including us humans.” 'The complete genome has provided us with the answers to how a few of the platypus’ bizarre features emerged,” says Guojie Zhang, a geneticist at the University of Copenhagen and co-author of the paper, in a statement. These egg-laying weirdos, called monotremes, split from other mammals roughly 187 million years ago and studying their genes may help researchers better understand the evolution of the first mammals, reports Cara Giaimo for the New York Times. Researchers recently published the most complete, detailed platypus genome ever along with the first fully sequenced, short-beaked echidna genome in the journal Nature.īesides their freaky appearances, these Australian animals are biological oddities because they lay eggs despite having fur, being warm blooded and nursing their young with milk.

Platypus evolution tree