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Ornithorhynchidae

 
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Ornithorhynchidae
 
 
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Ornithorhynchidae is one of the two extant families in the order Monotremata
Monotreme

Monotremes are mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young like Marsupialias and Placentalia .They are conventionally treated as comprising a single order Monotremata, though a recent classification proposes to divide them into the orders Platypoda and Tachyglossa ....
, and contains the Platypus
Platypus

The Platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal Endemic to Eastern states of Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay Egg instead of giving birth to live young....
 and its extinct relatives. The other family is the Tachyglossidae, or echidna
Echidna

Echidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, are four Extant taxon mammal species belonging to the Tachyglossidae Family of the monotremes....
s. Within Ornithorhynchidae are two genera
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, Obdurodon
Obdurodon

Obdurodon is an extinct monotreme genus containing three species. Obdurodon differed from modern Platypuses in that it had molar teeth ....
 and Ornithorhynchus:








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Ornithorhynchidae is one of the two extant families in the order Monotremata
Monotreme

Monotremes are mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young like Marsupialias and Placentalia .They are conventionally treated as comprising a single order Monotremata, though a recent classification proposes to divide them into the orders Platypoda and Tachyglossa ....
, and contains the Platypus
Platypus

The Platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal Endemic to Eastern states of Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay Egg instead of giving birth to live young....
 and its extinct relatives. The other family is the Tachyglossidae, or echidna
Echidna

Echidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, are four Extant taxon mammal species belonging to the Tachyglossidae Family of the monotremes....
s. Within Ornithorhynchidae are two genera
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, Obdurodon
Obdurodon

Obdurodon is an extinct monotreme genus containing three species. Obdurodon differed from modern Platypuses in that it had molar teeth ....
 and Ornithorhynchus:

  • Family Ornithorhynchidae
    Ornithorhynchidae

    Ornithorhynchidae is one of the two extant families in the order Monotreme, and contains the Platypus and its extinct relatives. The other family is the Tachyglossidae, or echidnas....
    • Genus †Obdurodon
      Obdurodon

      Obdurodon is an extinct monotreme genus containing three species. Obdurodon differed from modern Platypuses in that it had molar teeth ....
       — an ancient branch of the platypus family
      • †Obdurodon dicksoni
      • †Obdurodon insignis
      • †Obdurodon/Monotrematum sudamericanum
    • Genus Ornithorhynchus
      Platypus

      The Platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal Endemic to Eastern states of Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay Egg instead of giving birth to live young....
      • Ornithorhynchus anatinus (the modern Platypus
        Platypus

        The Platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal Endemic to Eastern states of Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay Egg instead of giving birth to live young....
        )
      • †Ornithorhynchus maximus
        Ornithorhynchus maximus

        Ornithorhynchus maximus was a platypus from the Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene. Some scientists believe it is an aquatic version of an echidna whereas others still believe that it is a platypus....
Another two genera, Steropodon
Steropodon

Steropodon galmani was a prehistoric species of monotreme, or egg-laying mammal, that lived during the middle Albian stage, in the Lower Cretaceous period....
 and Teinolophos
Teinolophos

Teinolophos trusleri was a prehistoric species of monotreme, or egg-laying mammal. It is known from a lower jawbone found in Flat Rocks, Victoria , Australia....
 may also belong to Ornithorhynchidae. However, they are both very ancient, and scientific literature seems to indicate that they are closely related to, but not a part of, the Ornithorhynchids.