Monotremes
Platypus
Ornithorhynchus anatinus
About
The platypus is one of only five species of egg-laying mammals (monotremes). With a duck-like bill, beaver tail, otter feet, and venomous ankle spurs, it looks like it was assembled from spare parts by a committee that wasn't communicating.
Their Eggs
Small, soft, leathery eggs (similar to reptile eggs), slightly rounder than a marble. The mother incubates them by curling around them in a nesting burrow.
Egg Size Comparison
Fun Fact
When the platypus was first described by European scientists in 1799, they thought it was a taxidermy hoax — someone had sewn a duck's bill onto a beaver's body. It took years and multiple specimens to convince the scientific community it was real.