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Poisonous platypuses confirm convergent evolution

Nature (2010)Cite this article

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Genome analysis shows that the monotremes and snakes have similar venoms.

Don't be fooled by the playful-looking duck's bill — platypuses deliver a venom containing more than 80 different toxins.

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References

  1. Whittington, C. M. et al. Genome Biol. 11, R95 doi:10.1186/gb-2010-11-0-r95 (2010).

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  2. Fenner, P. J., Williamson, J. A. H. & Myers, D. Med. J. Australia 157, 829-832 (1992).

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  1. Ewen Callaway
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Wesley Warren

Bryan Fry

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Callaway, E. Poisonous platypuses confirm convergent evolution. Nature (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2010.534

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2010.534

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