Ornithorhynchidae

Ornithorhynchidae
Temporal range: Oligocene to Present, 26–0 Ma Possible Late Cretaceous record
Platypus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Monotremata
Superfamily: Ornithorhynchoidea
Family: Ornithorhynchidae
J. E. Gray, 1825
Genera

The Ornithorhynchidae /ɔːrˌnɪθəˈrɪŋkɪd/ are one of the two extant families in the order Monotremata, and contain the platypus and its extinct relatives. The other family is the Tachyglossidae, or echidnas.

Within the Ornithorhynchidae are the main Cenozoic genera Ornithorhynchus and Obdurodon, and several potential stem-genera dating back to the Late Cretaceous, of which the oldest is possibly Dharragarra. Although fossil evidence suggests the presence of ornithorhynchids in the Cretaceous, phylogenetic evidence has largely found that they and the Tachyglossidae only diverged during the Cenozoic, although this varies based on the specific constraints used.[1]

  1. ^ Flannery, Timothy F.; McCurry, Matthew R.; Rich, Thomas H.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Smith, Elizabeth T.; Helgen, Kristofer M. (2024-05-26). "A diverse assemblage of monotremes (Monotremata) from the Cenomanian Lightning Ridge fauna of New South Wales, Australia". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 48 (2): 319–337. Bibcode:2024Alch...48..319F. doi:10.1080/03115518.2024.2348753. ISSN 0311-5518.