“Together with our echidna sequence, the genomes of the two species allow us to detect the ancestral and lineage-specific genomic changes that shape both monotreme and mammalian evolution,” wrote the researchers in the paper. Such research is of great academic value as by diving into the genome of what may be the Earth’s strangest mammal we can see what happened evolutionarily speaking to wind up at the bizarre body maps of the platypus ( Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and the echidna ( Tachyglossus aculeatus). Now, new research published in the journal Nature has sought to identify the root of these animals’ spectacularly bizarre array of characteristics by mapping their genomes. They are a member of the monotremes where they’re joined by another of Australia’s most unusual critters: the echidna. As semi-aquatic mammals who lay eggs, sweat milk and glow in the dark (turns out they're not the only ones), it’s easy to imagine why some early naturalists doubted the authenticity of early specimens which no doubt looked like someone had simply glued a beak to a taxidermy beaver.
For example, they claim the platypus lost a couple vitellogenin genes (needed to make eggs) and gained casein genes (needed for milk). That information is imposed on the data by scientists that start with an evolutionary worldview. However, that DNA sequence doesn’t tell us that the creature really did evolve, how that creature evolved, when it evolved, or what it evolved from. It is an amazing feat that with today’s technology we can sequence the genome of nearly any organism. It’s quite the puzzle for evolutionists to imagine what it might have evolved from! Now that the platypus genome has been decoded, scientists have woven together a STORY about genes lost and gained through millions of years of evolutionary history to make the platypus what it is today. The platypus is very unique because it shares features with mammals, birds, and reptiles. Georgia Purdom, AiG geneticist, explains: But this is nothing more than storytelling.ĭr. They’ve concluded that this aquatic mammal has lost and gained various genes throughout its history. As they peer into the observational science (DNA sequences), they’ve interpreted them (with historical science) through the lens of their worldview and their evolutionary beliefs about the past. In a study published in Nature, scientists announced they’ve mapped the platypus genome. But this is nothing more than storytelling.
After all, what did such a bizarre creature supposedly evolve from? Well, evolutionists now claim their understanding of the platypus’ origins has greatly advanced. This mosaic creature has always been a puzzle to evolutionists.