Platypus and echidna diverged from same ancestor between 19 and 48 mln yrs ago

The Hindustan Times | September 22, 2009 | Copyright

Sydney, September. 22 -- DNA analysis of the land-loving, spiny echidna has shown that the platypus and echidna diverged from the same ancestor between 19 and 48 million years ago.

According to a report by ABC News, the finding contradicts the widely held view that monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, are "living fossils" that have not evolved.

Monotremes are a unique group of animals made up of the echidna and the platypus.

These animals lay eggs from which their young emerge, like a reptile, but are 'warm-blooded' and suckle their young, like a mammal.

Lead author Dr Matt Phillips, of the ...

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