Why is a platypus a mammal?

Question

all mammals have to give birth to live born so why is a platypus a mammal if it lays eggs????????

Answer 1

A platypus is a mammal for many reasons.

It is warm blooded.
It is related to other mammals on an evolutionary chain.
It breast feeds it's young.

Many of the austrailian mammals are 'different'- check out 'marsupials', mammals with pouches :)

Answer 2

The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a 39–60 cm long, semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia and Tasmania, and one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young (the other four are echidnas). It is the sole extant representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of fossilised relatives have been found, some of them also in the Ornithorhynchus genus.

The platypus and other monotremes were very poorly understood for many years, and to this day some of the 19th century myths that grew up around them endure, for example, that the monotremes are "inferior" or quasi-reptilian, and that they are the distant ancestor of the "superior" placental mammals. It is now known that modern monotremes are the survivors of an early branching of the mammal tree; a later branching is thought to have led to the marsupial and placental groups.

Answer 3

The whole 'warm blood' thing I suppose? and the fact that even though it hatches its young, they still suckle. Reptiles don't do that.

A whale is a mammal, so is a dolphin.

It backs my whole theory that marajuana grew in abundence in the Garden of Eden and Adam and God were total stoners.

Just imagine Jay and Silent Bob with the powers of creation while totally high and listening to Alanis Morisette. That's not just frightening... and capable of producing something like a platypus as a result... it is quite Ironic, according to God's definition of Irony anyway?

Answer 4

Mammals Have 7 characteristics 6 out of 7 i think thats good enough to be a mammal

Answer 5

The playpus is a mammal by definition that scientist defined as a mammals. The definition of mammals is that they have hair and feed their babies with milk from their bodies. So the platypus, even though it lays eggs, has hair and feeds its babies with milk from its body.

Answer 6

They belong to the class Monotremata together with the Spiny Anteaters . They are called monotremes because like reptiles and birds they only have one rear "opening" unlike true mammals. In some respects they are like mammals, because they have fur and the females produce milk( however they have no nipples, the milk simply oozes from modified sweat glands) but in other respects they are like reptiles and birds because they lay eggs. Their transitional nature makes them very interesting to those that study evolution, but maybe for creationists it would be less embarrassing for them if they did not exist.

Answer 7

Whale is a mammal because it's a warm blood animal and have milk glands

Answer 8

the most important criteria to identify a mammalis the presence of mammary glands which ofcourse a platypus possess

Answer 9

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Answer 10

A platypus has fur and breast feeds.