Taxa

Monotremata

Order

Citation Formats

General Reference

Nature Atlas. "Monotremata." Accessed September 8, 2026. https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/order-monotremata.

APA Style

Nature Atlas. (n.d.). Monotremata. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/order-monotremata

BibTeX

@misc{natureatlas-monotremata,
  author = {Nature Atlas},
  title = {Monotremata},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://nature.interactiveatlas.org/taxa/order-monotremata},
  note = {Accessed September 8, 2026}
}

The egg-laying mammals: the only living mammal order whose members reproduce by laying eggs rather than giving birth to live young, though they still nurse their hatchlings with milk. Monotremata is confined to Australia and New Guinea and includes the platypus and the echidnas.

Facts

Disputed

Member Species/Taxa Count

5 1

Approximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized.

Taxonomic Rank

Order 1

Scientific Name

Monotremata 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Child Taxon Of

Mammalia

Source Catalogue of Life

Sources

1. Catalogue of Life

Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeView the Source

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