Jars of tiny platypus and echidna specimens, collected in the late 1800s by the scientist William Caldwell, have been discovered in the stores of Cambridge's University Museum of Zoology. Jars of tiny ...

An artist's illustration of an ancient platypus-like creature against a gray background. Around 70 million years ago, a small, furry, platypus-like creature shuffled along the banks of an ancient lake ...

The newly discovered Caldwell echidna specimen (photo by Jacqueline Garget; all images courtesy University of Cambridge Museum of Zoology) You know the type: rule-breaker, defies categorization, total ...

The platypus is one of the most unique animals in the world. It’s a mammal, but it lays eggs. It has webbed feet, a beaver-like tail, and an otter-like snout and bill that helps it locate food ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Echidnas may have evolved from a water-dwelling ancestor in an unusual evolutionary event, ...

An expedition through an unpredictable, perilous mountain range in Indonesia’s province of Papua led to the rediscovery of a critically endangered egg-laying mammal that hasn’t been seen for more than ...

Q. When we studied high school biology, our teacher said more than 99 percent of animals lay eggs and only a few give live birth. That percentage seems too high. Humans, dogs, cats and cows are ...