Talk:Monotreme
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[edit] lactation
This article mentions that Monotremes lactate, but do not have defined nipples. Would it be possible to clarify this to explain where exactly the milk exits the mother?
[edit] spelling
Just a note on spelling: Z. bruijnii appears to be correct. Of several sources that agree, I am taking Long, Archer, Flannery & Hand, Prehistoric mammals of Australia and New Guinea (University of NSW Press, 2002, ISBN 0868404357) as authoritive. Trevor will know who there people are already, I guess. Tannin
[edit] temperature format
All temperatures seem to be in Celcius, but are not marked as such. is this simply the convention across bio articles, or should it be noted?
- A good point. Virtually all scientific articles are done in the SI system to ensure a standard system of measurement. Whether or not the use of Celsius is standard convention is rather moot; it should be. Of course, a typical reader should realise that the average body temperature of placental mammals is not 38 degrees Faranheit. Ingoolemo 02:07, 2004 Jun 1 (UTC)
[edit] About the spur
Is there a spur in both legs? If not, in what leg is it?
Yes, the spur is on both legs.
[edit] Zaglossus bartoni
I'm trying to translate this article into Thai. Now, I get stuck at Barton's Long-beaked Echidna, couldn't find any clear references myself. So I need some help! :-P
What is it? If this is 'one more' surviving species of echidnas, why don't you put the name and information in Echidna and Platypus as well? There, it's said quite clear that 'there are only 4 extant species of monotremes, and 3 of them are echidnas'.
- There are four recognised species of echidna, and one species of platypus.--nixie 09:51, 27 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Platypi
And, should 'Platypi' in Fossil monotremes be corrected? Thank you. --- Nil 17:03, 28 August 2005 (UTC)
- Now platypuses. FireWorks 01:41, 27 December 2005 (UTC)
What's the convention for capitalization of platypus? Nixie on the Talk:Fauna of Australia page says it should be capitalized (as is done on the Fauna of Australia page proper), and I did that for a couple at first on this page (since some were, and some weren't), but then noticed the majority of instances on this page are actually lowercase initial. Decisions? FireWorks 01:41, 27 December 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Fossil Species?
Is it possible for more information to be provided on the fossil species? Were they predators or herbivores? what did they look like? did they resemble any modern day mammals?
[edit] Australia-New Guinea and Tasmania
What's the deal with "Australia-New Guinea and Tasmania" since Tasmania is part of Australia, shouldn't this be changed to "mainland Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania"? The problem here is the presence of monotremes on other islands off mainland Austrlia. Maybe it would be better just to say "Australia" and leave off the southern state. Also, is that hyphen supposed to be a comma? It could also be confusing if people think it means momotremes are found only in the parts of Australia called New Guinea and Tasmania. Problem with that is that New Guinea ceased to belong to Australia in the 1970s (plus monotremes are everywhere over here). Thoughts? Felix Dance 13:20, 27 December 2005 (UTC)
Look, I'm just gonna take the law into my own hands here. If you have a problem with my definition of Australia-New Guinea and Tasmania then argue it here. Felix Dance 07:55, 3 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Biological question
I want to know the form of their nitrogenous waste? it is uric acid (like bird and other animal who laid egg) or urea ... (because they lay egg, but the young embryo stay only 10 days in.... ) ??!?! thank you ...
[edit] References and external links
References and external links are opposite of each other. They need to either say "References" or "External links". --71.104.190.42 19:23, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] 5 species??
Since when have there been 5 species? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Mitternacht90 (talk • contribs) .
[edit] Biological question II
I am wondering. Do the male monotreme carry a penis? Does it have internal testicles? How does copulation take place - Like in birds? How is the uterus of the female monotreme? Some marsupials tend to have two uteri instead of one - right? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 217.74.211.90 (talk • contribs) .
[edit] Australosphenida = Prototheria?
If so, which one is used? Is the prototheria subclass obsolete? --Philo 
17:33, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
[edit] A monotreme egg
I would like to ask if anyone could foward more information relating to the monotreme eggs, in what way are they different to reptile and other eggs, an image of an egg, and any other relevant information. Thanks. --Francisco Valverde 15:36, 23 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] question on "myth"
The current article reads, "Monotremes were very poorly understood for many years, and to this day some of the 19th century myths that grew up around them endure. It is still sometimes thought, for example, that modern monotremes are the survivors of an early branching of the mammal tree; a later branching is thought to have led to the marsupial and placental groups."
Huh? Monotremes lay eggs, showing a transitional character to reptiles. Marsupials and placentals do not lay eggs. The tree of life web project places monotremes in an early branch, as opposed to marsupials and placentals. My question is: how do marsupials not represent an early branch of the mammal tree? I will delete or edit this example if my question is not started to be resolved in a matter of days. ApostateAbe 08:40, 3 March 2007 (UTC)
I took a look in the history and saw that an earlier text told of the myth like so:
- It is still sometimes thought, for example, that the monotremes are "inferior" or quasi-reptilian, and that they are a distant ancestor of the "superior" placental mammals. It now seems plain that modern monotremes are the survivors of an early branching of the mammal tree;
This is indeed a myth, and obviously different from the current telling of the "myth" that would be true, not false. I'll just delete the whole paragraph mentioning the "myth." ApostateAbe 09:16, 3 March 2007 (UTC)
