The first complete map of a platypus genome has just been released, and it's every bit as strange as you'd expect from a creature with 10 sex chromosomes, a pair of venomous spurs, a coat of fluorescent fur, and skin that 'sweats' milk.
Sydney -
The platypus, when first discovered, was sent to England for study. The academics of the time considered it a hoax. What would they have thought of a metre-long, carnivorous version, with teeth?
Four of the five extant monotreme species: platypus (top-left), short-beaked echidna (top-right), western long-beaked echidna (bottom-left), and replica eastern long-beaked echidna (bottom-right).
