An Animal to Question the Divine
Platypus
Probably one of the most bizarre animals on this blog seeing as it is a mammal, but is rather extraordinary. Most of us probably remember this little beast when we were laughing at the name and pictures in grade school. Though, you can't blame science for creating such an awkward looking animal and allowing a human to give it such a ridiculous name. Try to pin the blame anywhere in an attempt to explain this animal, but no matter what scapegoat is used, this is probably the weirdest animal in the world.
A strange appearance, indeed, as it has the feet of an otter, the bill of a duck, and the tail of a beaver. As if the looks weren't enough, it is also the only mammal to lay eggs instead of performing live birth. If the egg laying wasn't weird enough, it is one of the only mammals, and perhaps the most potent out of the small group, to have the ability to produce venom. The male's hind leg ankle spurs are poisonous. It is not lethal to a human being, but it can be extremely painful or it can, at times, disable a victim as large as a medium sized dog.
To say that the Platypus is a unique creature is a means to try to avoid cosmic discussions of evolution and Creationism. Though, if there is a God, I find it humorous that He not only watches in sheer boredom as we commit murder in His name without prejudice because that man, woman, or child does not belong to a sacred order, tribe, village, planned community, church, country, or race, but he also has the time to stop and deliver an animal that makes school children around the world giggle as much as He undoubtedly did before the first egg hatched.
Even more striking about this mammal is that it has the ability of electrolocation. This allows them to their locate their prey by detecting electric fields generated by muscular contractions. This system in the Platypus is extremely sensitive. Add this to the fact it is a great swimmer and you have a shrimp's worst nightmare. The Platypus is a carnivore, but only eats insect larvae, shrimp, and crayfish. It needs at least 20% of its body weight in food daily, so it is actively hunting for food twelve hours a day.
In evolutionary biology, the genome study of this fantastic animal revealed that the platypus genome contains bird, reptilian, amphibian, fish, and mammalian DNA. Also, unlike normal mammals containing two sex chromosomes, the Platypus has ten. The platypus genome has both reptilian and mammalian genes associated with egg fertilization. It also lacks the sex determining Y chromosome, leaving the process of sex determination a mystery. The study revealed in Spring of 2008 in Nature has proven that this is the first species to evolve from reptile to mammal.
