Meet the 'Echidnapus,' an Extinct Creature That Resembles Both the Echidna and Platypus of Today

The species is among three newly identified monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, discovered from fossils in Australia that are shedding light on the odd animals’ evolution

Sarah Kuta
Daily Correspondent

June 13, 2024



Newly examined fossils suggest monotremes—egg-laying mammals—were once much more abundant in Australia than they are today. Peter Shouten


Today, egg-laying mammals are rare oddballs, with creatures like the platypus and echidna standing out in the animal kingdom.
But it wasn’t always this way: Australia may have once been dominated by a diverse group of egg-laying mammals, known as monotremes, scientists report in the journal Alcheringa: an Australasian Journal of Palaeontology.

While revisiting old fossils, researchers recently identified three previously unknown extinct species of monotremes—including one, nicknamed the “echidnapus” and officially called Opalios splendens, that showed a mix of characteristics found in modern platypuses and echidnas. This unusual species roamed Australia during the Cretaceous period.

“Long before Australia became the land of pouched mammals, marsupials, this was a land of furry egg-layers—monotremes,” study co-author Elizabeth Smith, a paleontologist with the Australian Opal Center, tells BBC News’ Tiffanie Turnbull. “It seems that 100 million years ago, there were more monotremes at Lightning Ridge than anywhere else on Earth, past or present.”

The fossils were discovered about 25 years ago in the Lightning Ridge opal fields, a region of New South Wales known for producing valuable black opals. At the time, Smith and her daughter were sifting through an opal mine’s discard pile when they stumbled upon fossilized teeth and jawbones.

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-the-echidnapus-an-extinct-creature-that-resembles-both-the-echidna-and-platypus-of-today-180984543/