The platypus is one of nature’s oddest creatures—it’s a mammal that lays eggs! Native to eastern Australia and Tasmania, platypuses are part of a rare group called monotremes, which includes only five species worldwide, like the echidna. Unlike most mammals that give birth to live young, female platypuses lay 1 to 3 small, leathery eggs after a 21-day gestation period. They incubate the eggs for about 10 days in a burrow, curling their body around them to keep them warm.
When the babies, called puggles, hatch, they’re tiny—about the size of a jellybean—and completely helpless. The mother doesn’t have nipples; instead, she secretes milk from glands onto her fur, and the puggles lap it up. This egg-laying trait comes from the platypus’s ancient lineage, splitting off from other mammals over 100 million years ago, before live birth evolved. It’s a reminder of how evolution can take wild turns, leaving us with a mammal that acts like a reptile in some ways.
Next time you think of mammals, remember the platypus’s egg-laying quirk—it’s a basic fact that makes this animal truly unique. Share this with your friends and come back for more on Platypusfacts!
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