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Several things make the platypus different from other mammals:
- It is one of just two egg-laying mammals (monotremes) in the world: the other is the echidna.
- It has a bill which vaguely resembles that of a duck, but which is equipped with special electroreceptors, which enable the platypus to sense electrical impulses from tiny crustaceans and insect larvae at the bottom of creeks and rivers. It feeds on these creature, scooping it up with its bill, and crushing it between grinding plates, rather than teeth.
- It has retractable webbing between its claws. This enables it to swim in the water, but retract when it needs to dig a burrow.
What else can I help you with?
Are Australian echidnas invertebrates?
No. All echidnas are mammals, and all mammals are vertebrates. Echidnas are different from "echinoderms".
Is an echidna an invertebrate?
No. All echidnas are mammals, and all mammals are vertebrates. Echidnas are different from "echinoderms".
Is it true that platypuses are different from other mammals babies because they share nothing?
Platypuses and echidnas are different from other mammals because they are monotremes, i.e. mammals which lay eggs.
Do an eel have a backbone?
Yes. Like all mammals, echidnas are vertebrates.
Are long beaked echidnas and porcupines from the same family?
Not at all. Echidnas and porcupines are not even remotely related. Echidnas are monotremes, or egg-laying mammals. porcupines are placental mammals, a quite different order of mammals.
Are echidnas vertebrates?
Yes. Echidnas are vertebrates. They are mammals, and all mammals are vertebrates.
What makes echidnas different from other Vertebrates?
Echidnas are different as, like platypuses, they are egg-laying mammals. This group of vertebrates, known as the monotremes, is unique: their method of reproduction is laying eggs, yet they nurture their young on mothers' milk. Apart from producing milk to feed their young, there are other differences: they do not fit with egg-laying reptiles as echidnas are warm-blooded; nor do they fit with egg-laying birds because all birds have feathers, and echidnas, like other mammals, have hair/fur.
Do echidnas have dry scales?
No. Echidnas are mammals, and mammals do not have scales. Echidnas have skin covered by thick fur, and spines growing throughout the thick fur.
What are echidnas classed as?
Echidnas are classed as mammals. Specifically, they are monotremes, or egg-laying mammals. They are classified as mammals despite being egg-layers, because the young suckle mothers' milk. This is the defining characteristic of all mammals. Like most other mammals, they also have fur.
What do baby echidnas eat?
Echidnas are mammals, so the young drink mothers' milk. When the young hatches from the egg, it is fed on mother's milk which seeps from milk glands, not teats like other mammals.
How do echidnas feed their young?
Echidnas are mammals, so the young drink mothers' milk. When the young hatches from the egg, it is fed on mother's milk which seeps from milk glands, not teats like other mammals.
Are echidnas born or hatched?
Echidnas are hatched. They are monotremes, or egg-laying mammals.
