monotreme
Sign in to saveMonotremes () are mammals of the order Monotremata. They are the only mammals still in existence which lay eggs, rather than bearing live young. The five extant monotreme species are the platypus and the four species of echidnas. Monotremes are typified by structural differences in their brains, jaws, digestive tracts, reproductive tracts, and other body parts, compared to the more common mammalian types. Although they are different from other living mammals in that they lay eggs, female monotremes are like other mammals in that they nurse their young with milk.
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Monotremes are a small group of egg-laying mammals that include the platypus and echidnas, making them unique among living mammals since all other mammals give birth to live young. Despite laying eggs, female monotremes share a key trait with other mammals: they produce milk to feed their babies after they hatch.
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10 sectionsContents
- General characteristics
- Reproductive system
- Physiology
- Taxonomy
- Summary of extant species
- Fossil monotremes
- Fossil species
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Monotremes () are mammals of the order Monotremata. They are the only mammals still in existence which lay eggs, rather than bearing live young. The five extant monotreme species are the platypus and the four species of echidnas. Monotremes are typified by structural differences in their brains, jaws, digestive tracts, reproductive tracts, and other body parts, compared to the more common mammalian types. Although they are different from other living mammals in that they lay eggs, female monotremes are like other mammals in that they nurse their young with milk.
Monotremes have been considered by some authors to be members of Australosphenida, a clade that contains extinct mammals from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Madagascar, South America, and Australia, but this categorization is disputed and their taxonomy is under debate.