Scientists found the 250-million-year-old fossil of this prehistoric "platypus" in China's Jialingjiang Formation.
(L. Cheng et al, Scientific Reports, Creative Commons 4.0)
Cool!
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young.
The unusual appearance of this egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, with some considering it an elaborate hoax. It is one of the few species of venomous mammals: the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans.
Now with Stegosaurus plates!!
We report two new specimens of one such marine reptile, Eretmorhipis carrolldongi, from the Lower Triassic of Hubei, China, revealing superficial convergence with the modern duckbilled platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), a monotreme mammal. ..."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-37754-6
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The platypus gets more and more bizarre all the time. It makes me wonder if God was stoned when He created it.
The Platypus has always been my favorite animal. So unique. I have a stuffed animal I picked up in Australia on deployment that I have kept on my desk or in my car for nearly 30 years - named it Plato.
There is a hilarious skit - I’ll have to go find it - about God creating the platypus with leftover parts and saying something like “hey Darwin screw you” or “this will really mess with’em”.
RBG’s latest xrays?
Looks good for 250 million years old. That tiny little bit of earth had to remain almost perfectly still for 250 million years to keep the thing in pristine condition.
I can’t even comprehend 250 million years.