Platypus

A surprising observation in the lab has revealed a remarkable ability in Stentor coeruleus, a single-celled organism about one millimeter long. Sometimes nicknamed the "platypus" of microorganisms for its trumpet-like shape, this tiny creature appears to have a distinct preference for corners.

The combination of a beaver-like body and duck-like bill of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is only the first of a long list of strange features on this unique creature. These odd mammals also lay eggs, have venomous spurs, sense electricity, glow under UV light, and harbor five times more sex chromosomes than many other animals. Now, a study published in Biology Letters reveals that their fur also contains melanosomes that are unlike in any other animal—and scientists can't figure […]

In a dry riverbed in Brazil, in a dense forest near the Amazon, a team of paleontologists found a fossilized jawbone from an ancient animal. Over the course of their fieldwork, they found eight similar bones, each around six inches long—but no other bones that they could confidently use to complete a skeleton for one of these mystery animals.

It's been a good few months in the press for the rakali (known as moytj in Noongar)—Australia's native water rat. These long-whiskered rodents finally received the recognition they deserve, with the ABC's National Science Week poll crowning the rakali the nation's most underrated animal.

We humans have long viewed ourselves as the pinnacle of evolution. People label other species as "primitive" or "ancient" and use terms like "higher" and "lower" animals.