THERE are several characteristics that are generally associated with each class of animal - birds have beaks and talons, or webbed feet, reptiles have scales, mammals usually have fur and give birth, and so on.
Most definitely in a class of its own, platypuses are mammals that lay eggs, have beaks and have webbed feet. There are other cool characteristics about platypuses but one in particular sticks out and tips the unique scale a little more.
According to some articles, platypuses have no teats for their young to nurse on but instead, ooze milk out of their skin for their young to feed on.
Could this be true or is it just a myth?
Verdict:
TRUE
Instead of the boring method of feeding their young, platypuses concentrate milk onto their belly, by way of the milk just oozing from the surface of their skin, making it look like sweat. The milk pools in the grooves of their skin, allowing their young, called puggles, to lap it up.
But of course, since platypuses are aquatic, they don’t produce regular sweat at all.
This method of milk delivery is quite different from most other mammals that have developed nipples or teats to feed their young.
The absence of teats is just one of many distinctive traits of the platypus, which is classified as a monotreme—a group of egg-laying mammals that includes the platypus and the echidnas.
Since this delivery system is less hygienic than the direct nipple-in-mouth method, platypus milk contains powerful antibacterial proteins to protect the babies from illness. These proteins may be a useful source of future antibiotics.
And there you go, another one to add to the list of why platypuses are out of this world!
References:
https://www.sciencefocus.com/
https://www.thecut.com/2020/
https://www.bbc.com/news/
