News Animals

Platypus fur has a surprising feature seen only in bird feathers

Pigment structures in the fur are hollow like those in birds — a first for mammals

The platypus has a feature of bird feathers.

Platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) are endemic to the fresh waters of Australia. The mammals have hollow pigment-containing structures called melanosomes. They might be related to the mammal's aquatic lifestyle, researchers speculate.

Jason Edwards/The Image Bank/Getty Images

By Jude Coleman

This is a human-written story voiced by AI.