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[Exhibition guide number:2302]
Monotremata: Reptile-like Mammals
The platypus and echidna have similar characteristics to reptiles, such as laying eggs, and their skeletal structures. However, the hatchlings are raised on milk from the mother, and their bodies are covered in hair, so they are unmistakably mammals. These animals retain the physical structures of primitive mammals, so they are "valuable living witnesses"for learning about the evolution of mammals.