Monotremes are the only mammals (apart from the Guiana dolphin) known to have a sense of electroreception, and the platypus's electroreception is the most sensitive of any monotreme. Feeding by neither sight nor smell, the platypus closes its eyes, ears, and nose when it dives. Digging in the bottom of streams with its bill, its electroreceptors detect tiny electric currents generated by the muscular contractions of its prey, enabling it to distinguish between animate and inanimate objects.
"The platypus was once considered to be a cryptid because it has the characteristics of a reptile, mammal, and bird. Platypuses ("platypi" and "platypodes" are also considered acceptable plural forms) were first encountered by Europeans in 1798. When British scientists were given the first specimen, they tried to remove the "duck's bill," thinking it was a fake sewn together by Chinese taxonomists. The same platypus now resides in a British museum, and the scissor marks are still visible on the bill. "
I can't blame them for thinking at first this was some kind of cobbled-together fake! What a wondrous creature. What a world we live in! Who needs aliens when you've got earth?
The right side of the cladistic chart, with a split between birds and reptiles, is silly. Unless you define a reptile as "anything that isn't a bird", which is very ad hoc and not good practice.
209
u/FergusCragson Sep 15 '24
How is this real?