Friday Monotreme Blogging

Maybe my cat isn’t your thing. Maybe you’re just not a cat person (you would be if you knew Bruce…) Maybe you’re saying to yourself this morning — “If he posts one more picture of that stupid cat, I’ll never come back again.” If that’s the case, I’ve got something you might enjoy.

Somewhere between studying and working, I came across a site with just about everything you’d want to know about echindas. It even has a picture gallery with some beautiful pictures too.

These amazing animals are monotremes — egg laying mammals, like the Duck-billed Platypus. In addition to egg-laying, they also have a cloaca — a single opening through which urine and feces pass. These two characteristics are so interesting because they are traits shared with reptiles and birds, and represent the state of mammals early in their evolutionary history. Monotremes truly are relics to a time long ago.

Finally, if you don’t look at all the pictures, be sure to check out the picture of its penis. (I’ll let you decide if this link’s safe for work or not…) One of the great joys of studying biology is realizing that not everything works like you do.