Question

An egg laying mammal is
A. Porcupine
B. Bat
C. Pangolin
D. Tachyglossus

Answer 1

Mammals include humans and all other animals that are warm-blooded vertebrates with hair. They feed their young with milk and have a more developed brain than other types of animals. Mammalia is a taxonomic class of the phylum Chordata. It includes all animals, which has the following characteristics: a neocortex, three middle ear bones, a lower jaw made of a single bone, a hairy body covering, a thoracic diaphragm, a four-chambered heart and mostly viviparous females.

Complete Answer:
- In this particular question, we should know that mammals are a group of vertebrate animals belonging to the class Mammalia, the main characteristics are the presence of mammary glands, neocortex, fur, and three middle ear bones. All mammals are viviparous i.e. they bear young life.
- Mammals are a very diverse group of organisms, and most of the mammals develop their offspring within the uterus of the mother. Mammals now have diversified into the placentals and the marsupials care for the baby(offspring). It is always the mother that gives birth to new offspring except for Dayak fruit bats, males are the ones producing milk to nourish the young.
- Mammal consists of a small animal like a bat and a large animal like a blue whale. There are more than 5,500 living species of mammals.
- According to the classification by Linnaeus, 1758, Mammals belong to the Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia.
- The egg-laying mammals are also known as monotremes. There are 5 living species of monotreme, contained within two families that is Family Ornithorhynchidae and Family Tachyglossidae. Tachyglossus is one species of short-beaked echidna belonging to the family Tachyglossidae.

So, the correct option is "D". An egg-laying mammal is Tachyglossus.

Note: Tachyglossus also is known as short-beaked echidna, it is covered in fur and spines and has a specialized tongue, which it uses to catch its insect prey. It is a carnivorous animal and it is found mostly in meadows, heathlands, forests, woodlands, and the Australian desert. They usually shelter themselves in rotten logs, stumps, tree roots, caves or burrows, or under bushes.