Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A unique feature of the venom is the presence of a D-amino acid. This is the only known such example in mammalian systems. [8] This venom appears to be related to that of several species that are not part of the platypus's evolutionary lineage, such as certain fish, reptiles, insectivores, and spiders, sea anemones, and starfish. [9]
When a platypus feels threatened, it will stab its spurs into its attacker and inject this toxic venom. Fortunately for humans, platypus venom isn’t fatal, but it does cause extreme pain. In ...
Platypus venom is likely retained from its distant non-monotreme ancestors, being the last living example of what was once a common characteristic among mammals. [2] Fossil records show that venom delivery systems were not sexually dimorphic in ancestral monotremes. [18]
The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), [4] sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, [5] is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. The platypus is the sole living representative or monotypic taxon of its family Ornithorhynchidae and genus Ornithorhynchus , though a number of related species ...
A platypus bill may look like a duck’s bill, but it has a secret ability. The bill contains receptor cells that detect the electric signals made by all living things. As it swims in the water ...
The echidna spurs are vestigial and have no known function, while the platypus spurs contain venom. [42] Molecular data show that the main component of platypus venom emerged before the divergence of platypus and echidnas, suggesting that the most recent common ancestor of these taxa was also possibly a venomous monotreme. [43]
The platypus, a duck-billed, beaver-tailed mammal that adores the water, is so beloved in its home country of Australia, the nation has featured the species on its 20-cent coin.
Yellowjacket sting in its sheath in the scanning electron microscope. Among arthropods, a sting or stinger is a sharp organ, often connected with a venom gland and adapted to inflict a wound by piercing, as with the caudal sting of a scorpion. Stings are usually located at the rear of the animal.