Post the second
Inspired (or perhaps taunted) by nmg I give you my five favourite monotremes:
1. The Sir David's Long-beaked Echidna. Spiky, pseudo mythical, rare as all get out, and alarmingly cute. Also, it can make use of eletroreception! How cool is that? And thirdly, named after everyone's favourite Natural History Uncle. Has three claws on its hind legs.
2. The Platypus. Beloved of fans of the weird, disliked by professoryaffle because its genes aren't like anything else's. One of the very few poisonous, egg-laying mammals (OK, that's cheating, cos echidnas do too, but they don't swim). Also, it has lips that look like a beak. Cool!
3. The Short-beaked Echidna. Even cuter than the Sir David's, and the only one in it's group, also has three claws.
4. & 5. are tied for preference (this is a bloody adorable list of cutenesses, and there isn't much between them). The Western and Eastern Long-beaked Echidna. Some say this is one species, but others disagree, both of these have five claws on their hind legs, but they vary in colouration and spine density.
I give you the ECHIDNA:
If anyone can tell me the secret bio geek joke hidden in this post, you get the pedantry award. nmg isn't allowed to play, cos we discussed this already.
1. The Sir David's Long-beaked Echidna. Spiky, pseudo mythical, rare as all get out, and alarmingly cute. Also, it can make use of eletroreception! How cool is that? And thirdly, named after everyone's favourite Natural History Uncle. Has three claws on its hind legs.
2. The Platypus. Beloved of fans of the weird, disliked by professoryaffle because its genes aren't like anything else's. One of the very few poisonous, egg-laying mammals (OK, that's cheating, cos echidnas do too, but they don't swim). Also, it has lips that look like a beak. Cool!
3. The Short-beaked Echidna. Even cuter than the Sir David's, and the only one in it's group, also has three claws.
4. & 5. are tied for preference (this is a bloody adorable list of cutenesses, and there isn't much between them). The Western and Eastern Long-beaked Echidna. Some say this is one species, but others disagree, both of these have five claws on their hind legs, but they vary in colouration and spine density.
I give you the ECHIDNA:
If anyone can tell me the secret bio geek joke hidden in this post, you get the pedantry award. nmg isn't allowed to play, cos we discussed this already.