Duck billed platypus

[flashpig]

Did the duck billed platypus evolve from ducks, or was it just a mammal who evolved a beak similar to a ducks?

[hal]

I'm not sure why Andy has said this. The platypus is not an enigma at all (although it is used by creationists to try to discredit evolutionary theory). It is unusual in that it is an egg laying mammal. Such animals are known as monotremes and there are only three other species, but there is nothing that can't be explained through natural selection. Incidentally the bill is an electrolocation device used for finding food. The following link gives a little more detail and a reference to the creationist argument. (If it doesn't work delete the <P> that sometimes appears at the end of the address).

http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/platypus.html

[Aschenbach]

Interesting article but it seems a bit futile arguing with someone who believes in Noah and the Ark (why would ducks and platypuses need to be on the ark anyway when they can swim? )

They are an enigma in the sense that they resemble no other mammal on earth. When early explorers brought back a stuffed platypus to Europe it was thought to be an elaborate joke made up of various other animals pieces.

I read in a BBC book about a type of hedgehog monotreme that also lays eggs which resemble reptile eggs. It's an example of convergent evoloution rather than a direct relationship.

[hal]

An enigma  is a mysterious or puzzling thing - the platypus is an oddity, but not mysterious or puzzling.