These egg-laying oddities are more birdlike than previously thought

  • ragica@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 day ago
    Tap for spoiler

    “Biologists from Ghent University in Belgium looked at platypus melanosomes—specialized pigment-bearing organelles inside cells—under an electron microscope. To their surprise, they discovered that the melanosomes were hollow and spherical. Previously, only birds were thought to possess hollow melanosomes, which produce more vibrant iridescent colors in their plumage.”