Scientists have mapped out the genome of the platypus - which shows it's a living remnant of ancient egg-laying mammals.
One of the oddest creatures in nature, the semi-aquatic platypus is an egg-laying mammal which produces milk and has fur, has a bill like a duck and venom like a snake, flowing from a spur under its hind feet.
It is so strange that when the first stuffed specimens arrived in Europe at the end of the 18th century, biologists believed they were looking at a taxidermist's hoax, a composite stitched together from the body of a beaver and the snout of a giant duck.
But now, in what is considered a milestone for Australian genetics, an international team of 100 researchers, including 26 from Australia, have mapped out the full set of chromosomes of the platypus.
They say the genome sequence is priceless for understanding how mammals - including humans - first evolved.
Dr Ewan Birney from the European Bioinformatics Institute is one of the researchers.
“The platypus gives us a window to 170 million years ago when all mammals were probably egg laying, and one group continued to work in a particular way and they became the platypus.
