Genes Reveal Platypus Even Weirder Than Suspected

I always liked these little guys. Kind of cool to see who they are related to in the big world. Even if it is not anyone really expected.

FOXNews.com - Genes Reveal Platypus Even Weirder Than Suspected - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News: "To sort out the evolutionary relationships among platypuses and other animals, the team compared the genome of a female platypus nicknamed Glennie with those of humans, mice, dogs, opossums and chickens.

Chickens were included to represent egg-laying animals, such as extinct reptiles, that passed on much of their DNA to the platypus and other mammals in the course of evolution.

At roughly 2.2 billion base pairs, the platypus genome is about two-thirds the size of the human genome, the researchers found. It shares more than 80 percent of its genes with other mammals.

['This is our ticket back in time to when all mammals laid eggs while suckling their young on milk,' Oxford University's Chris Ponting, who was part of the study, told Agence France-Presse.]"