Name: 鴨嘴獸一點也不怪，怪的是你！ (Platypuses Aren't Weird, You Are)
Uploaded: 2026-01-14T04:27:27.000Z
Duration: 13 min 49 s

Everything about them is bizarre, from their duck bills to their beaver tails.

從牠們的鴨子嘴巴到海狸尾巴，一切都很奇特。

Like they're technically mammals, but they're doing it all wrong.

牠們 technically 是哺乳類，但做的事情都錯了。

They lay eggs, they sweat out their milk, and they have venom spikes on their legs.

牠們會下蛋，牠們用汗水分泌乳汁，而且腿上有毒刺。

They're just so darn different from the rest of us mammals.

牠們跟我們其他哺乳類真的差好多。

Well, today I'm here to defend the poor platypus.

嗯，今天我要來為可憐的鴨嘴獸辯護。

Lots of their features might seem strange to us, but

牠們的很多特徵對我們來說可能很奇怪，但是

they were actually the norm for most of mammalian history.

在哺乳類歷史的大部分時間裡，這些反而是常態。

Because in the big picture of mammal evolution, platypuses aren't weird.

因為從哺乳類演化的宏觀角度來看，鴨嘴獸一點也不奇怪。

The story of mammal evolution begins over 300 million years ago with the rise of a group called synapsids.

哺乳類演化的故事始於三億多年前，當時出現了一個叫做 synapsids 的族群。

Early synapsids included things like sail back to dimetrodon and saber toothed gorgonopsids, who all had a lot in common with early reptiles.

早期的 synapsids 包括像帆龍的 dimetrodon 和 saber toothed gorgonopsids，牠們和早期爬蟲類有很多相似之處。

Eventually, those ancient synapsids gave rise to the true mammals like you and me.

最終，這些古老的 synapsids 演化出了像你我一樣的真正哺乳類。

Along the way, they developed classic mammalian traits like fur, milk and warm body temperatures, plus plenty of telltale features of their skulls and jaws, which can be identified in the very oldest fossil mammals.

演化過程中，牠們發展出了經典的哺乳類特徵，像是毛皮、乳汁和溫暖的體溫，還有牠們頭骨和下顎的許多標誌性特徵，這些特徵在最早的化石哺乳類中都可以辨識出來。

Those first mammals lived more than 200 million years ago during the Triassic period, the beginning of the Mesozoic era or the so called age of reptiles.

這些最早的哺乳類生活在兩億多年前的 Triassic period，也就是 Mesozoic era 的開端，又被稱為爬蟲類時代。

We typically think of mammals during the Mesozoic as being boring and unremarkable, but

我們通常認為 Mesozoic 時期的哺乳類很無聊、不起眼，但

they were actually doing very well for themselves.

There were several major mammal groups back then, including birds, burrowers, scurriers, swimmers and even gliders.

那時候有幾個主要的哺乳類群體，包括鳥類、穴居者、奔跑者、游泳者，甚至還有滑翔者。

But only three lineages of those mammals made it to today.

但那些哺乳類中只有三個譜系存活至今。

We've got placentals, that's most of us, named for the placenta that nourishes our offspring in the womb.

我們有 placentals，也就是我們大多數人，牠們之所以得名，是因為在子宮內滋養後代的胎盤。

And then there are the marsupials, which are things like koalas, kangaroos, and our own American opossums.

再來就是 marsupials，像是無尾熊、袋鼠，還有我們美國的負鼠。

These guys are named for their marsupium, which is that pouch they use to carry their babies.

牠們之所以得名，是因為牠們有 marsupium，也就是用來載牠們寶寶的那個育兒袋。

And finally there are the monotremes, echidnas and platypuses, the egg laying mamm.

最後則是 monotremes，像是針鼴和鴨嘴獸，就是那些會下蛋的哺乳類。

There are a grand total of five species of those alive today, and

they're all in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

牠們全都住在澳洲和巴布亞紐幾內亞。

The word monotreme means one hole, referring to their cloaca.

monotreme 這個詞的意思是「一個開口」，指的是牠們的 cloaca。

That's a single rear opening for all of their reproduction and bowel emptying needs similar to what we see in reptiles.

那是一個單一的後方開口，用於牠們所有的繁殖和排洩需求，跟我們在爬蟲類看到的很像。

Now, placentals and marsupials are closely related to each other.

現在，placentals 和 marsupials 彼此之間關係很密切。

These two groups split from their shared ancestors in the early Cretaceous period, around 140 million years ago.

這兩群體大約在 1.4 億年前的白堊紀早期，從牠們共同的祖先分支出來。

But monotremes are A more ancient branch of the mammal family tree dating back to more than 160 million years.

但 monotremes 則是哺乳動物家族樹中更古老的支系，可以追溯到一億六千萬年前以上。

So while other mammals were evolving iconic features like live birth and nipples, monotremes were far along on their own separate journey.

所以當其他哺乳動物在演化出胎生和乳頭等標誌性特徵時，單孔類動物已經走在自己獨立的演化道路上了。

And they missed out on some of those familiar mammal traits.

牠們錯過了一些我們熟悉的哺乳動物特徵。

This doesn't make monotremes less evolved than other mammals.

這並不代表單孔類動物的演化程度不如其他哺乳動物。

It just explains how they've held onto a bunch of traits that other modern mammals changed or lost over time.

這只是解釋了牠們是如何保留了許多現代哺乳動物隨著時間改變或失去的特徵。

Which means that in many ways, monotremes are more like the ancient mammals of the Mesozoic era.

這意味著，在許多方面，單孔類動物更像是中生代時期的古代哺乳動物。

And with that in mind, let's talk about some of those weird platypus traits that aren't quite as niche as they seem.

帶著這個想法，我們來聊聊一些鴨嘴獸奇特的特徵，這些特徵其實並沒有看起來那麼「小眾」。

我們就從牠們的蛋開始說起吧。

It's no surprise that when European scientists first got a look at platypuses, they were convinced that these bizarre mammals must be some sort of hoax.

歐洲科學家第一次見到鴨嘴獸時，就堅信這些奇特的哺乳動物一定是個騙局，這點一點也不讓人意外。

They especially didn't like the idea that platypuses laid eggs.

牠們特別無法接受鴨嘴獸會下蛋這個想法。

That was just too weird for a mammal to do.

這對哺乳動物來說實在是太奇怪了。

In fact, for many years, some European scientists refused to believe platypuses were egg lay.

事實上，很多年來，有些歐洲科學家都拒絕相信鴨嘴獸會下蛋。

They had eyewitness accounts from Australian settlers and, you know, the indigenous peoples that had lived with the animals for thousands of years.

他們有來自澳洲定居者，以及你知道的，世世代代與這些動物共存的原住民的親眼目擊證詞。

But those crotchety old scientists were wrong.

但那些固執的老科學家們錯了。

Platypuses and echidnas do lay eggs, albeit ones that are a bit different from your average chicken egg.

鴨嘴獸和針鼴確實會下蛋，不過牠們的蛋跟一般雞蛋有點不太一樣。

Instead, their shells are soft and leathery, like lizard or snake eggs.

相反地，牠們的蛋殼是柔軟且有彈性的，就像蜥蜴或蛇的蛋一樣。

Platypuses in particular, lay their eggs inside a nesting burrow.

鴨嘴獸特別會把蛋下在巢穴裡。

Like other egg layers, they guard the nest until the young hatch.

和其他下蛋的動物一樣，牠們會守護巢穴直到幼崽孵化。

And like other mammals, they care babies after they hatch.

而且和哺乳動物一樣，牠們會在幼崽孵化後照顧牠們。

Oh, and also, baby platypuses are called puggles.

喔，對了，還有，你知道嗎？小鴨嘴獸叫做 puggles。

This is an important fact that everybody needs to puggles.

這是個大家都需要知道的重要事實。

Laying eggs is unusual among modern mammals, but it used to be what we all did.

雖然現代哺乳動物中下蛋很不尋常，但這曾經是我們都會做的事。

Those early synapsids were egg layers, and early mammals inherited that trait.

那些早期的 synapsids 是會下蛋的，早期哺乳動物也繼承了這個特徵。

That said, we're not sure exactly when modern mammals made the switch to live birth.

這麼說來，我們不太確定現代哺乳動物確切是何時轉變為胎生。

Soft shelled eggs don't tend to fossilize well, so we have basically no fossil record of ancient mammal reproductive habits.

軟殼蛋不容易變成化石，所以我們幾乎沒有古代哺乳動物繁殖習性的化石紀錄。

But relationships between ancient and modern mammals.

但古代哺乳動物和現代哺乳動物之間的關係。

Live birth seems to have shown up along the lineage, leading to placentals and marsupials.

胎生似乎出現在通往 placentals 和 marsupials 的演化支路上。

Outside of that branch of the family tree, most ancient mammals probably laid eggs.

在家系樹的這個分支之外，大多數古代哺乳動物可能都會下蛋。

So in that regard, platypuses are sticking to a time honored mammal tradition.

所以在這方面，鴨嘴獸是遵循著歷史悠久的哺乳動物傳統。

It's really us and our shell less babies who are the reproductive renegades.

其實是我們和我們沒有殼的寶寶，才是繁殖上的叛逆者。

Speaking of baby mammals, another unusual habit of platypuses is how they feed their young.

說到哺乳動物的寶寶，鴨嘴獸還有另一個不尋常的習慣，那就是牠們餵養幼崽的方式。

Mammals feed their babies with milk from our special mammary glands.

哺乳動物會用我們特有的乳腺分泌的乳汁來餵養寶寶。

And milk is one of the defining features of mammals.

而乳汁是哺乳動物的定義特徵之一。

It's full of nutrition and antimicrobial proteins that help our babies develop properly.

它富含營養和抗菌蛋白質，能幫助我們的寶寶健康發育。

Most modern mammals, whether they're humans or cows or kangaroos, deliver their milk using the same anatomical nipples.

大多數現代哺乳動物，無論是人類、牛或袋鼠，都是用相同的解剖學上的乳頭來分泌乳汁。

Baby mammals can easily latch on to these built in nozzles and drink their fill.

哺乳動物的寶寶可以輕鬆地吸住這些內建的奶嘴，盡情飲用。

但再一次，單孔目動物又很奇怪了。

Platypuses and echidnas produce mil, but they have no nipples.

鴨嘴獸和針鼴會產生乳汁，但牠們沒有乳頭。

Instead, they have a flat patch of skin on their underside called an areola that just sort of leaks the milk.

取而代之的是，牠們腹部下方有一塊扁平的皮膚區域，叫做 areola，乳汁就從那裡滲出來。

And yeah, placental mammals have areolas too, but they're not the leaky variety.

而且對，胎盤哺乳動物也有 areola，但它們不是那種會滲漏的。

Platypuses basically sweat out their milk and then their little puggles lick it up.

鴨嘴獸基本上是「汗」出牠們的乳汁，然後牠們的小寶寶就會去舔食。

This feeding strategy seems really inefficient compared to the streamlined delivery system of nipples.

跟乳頭那種流線型的輸送系統比起來，這種餵食策略看起來效率很差。

But the platypus strategy actually has deep evolutionary roots.

但鴨嘴獸的策略其實有很深的演化根源。

The ability to produce milk probably goes all the way back to the very first mammals.

產生乳汁的能力可能可以追溯到最早期的哺乳動物。

Not only do all living mammals do it, but

不只所有現存的哺乳動物都會這樣，

some of the earliest fossil mammals show evidence that their young were able to grow really quickly, which would be expected if they were getting a maternal nutrient boost.

一些最早期的化石哺乳動物也顯示出牠們的幼崽能夠快速成長，這表示牠們獲得了母親的營養支持。

Of course, the fossil record is severely lacking in nipples, so it's hard to know for sure if ancient mammals had them.

當然，化石紀錄裡嚴重缺乏乳頭的證據，所以很難確定古代哺乳動物有沒有乳頭。

But there's reason to suspect they didn't.

See, the downside to soft shelled eggs is that they can dry out.

你看，軟殼蛋的缺點就是容易乾掉。

Lots of modern lizards and snakes have to bury their eggs in soil to keep them damp.

很多現代的蜥蜴和蛇都必須把蛋埋在土裡，保持濕潤。

Some scientists have hypothesized that early mammals not only used milk to feed their offspring, but

有些科學家假設，早期的哺乳動物不只用乳汁餵養牠們的下一代，

Modern amphibians have a similar strategy.

現代的兩棲動物也有類似的策略。

Frog and salamander parents often stick close to their eggs, and

青蛙和蠑螈的父母經常待在牠們的蛋旁邊，

their skin secretions are thought to help keep the eggs moist.

而牠們皮膚的分泌物據信有助於保持蛋的濕潤。

Now, we don't know for sure if platypuses soak their eggs with milk, but

雖然我們不確定鴨嘴獸是否會用乳汁浸泡牠們的蛋，

some research has found that monotre milk contains certain proteins that as important components of eggs.

但一些研究發現，monotreme 的乳汁含有某些蛋白質，這些蛋白質是蛋的重要組成部分。

This supports the idea that a monotreme's milk might play a role in maintaining the health of their eggs.

這支持了 monotreme 的乳汁可能在維持牠們蛋的健康方面扮演角色的想法。

And while nipples are great for feeding milk into mouths, a milky skin patch is better for spreading milk over a whole nest of eggs.

而乳頭很適合餵奶進嘴巴，但乳狀的皮膚斑塊更適合將乳汁塗抹在整窩蛋上。

So the platypus strategy of puggle pacifying perspiration might actually be just as beneficial.

所以鴨嘴獸安撫幼崽的排汗策略，可能跟我們發育中的幼崽一樣有益。

For their developing young, as a precision delivery nipple is for ours.

就像精密餵食乳頭對我們一樣。

Which also means that this strategy might have been common among those ancient egg mammals.

這也意味著這種策略可能在那些古老的蛋類哺乳動物中很常見。

But before we get to our next platypus superpower, all research needs funding.

但在我們介紹下一個鴨嘴獸的超能力之前，所有的研究都需要經費。

This SciShow video is supported by sendacake.com, the unique gifting experience for Father's Day birthdays or anything else you're celebrating.

SciShow 這支影片由 sendacake.com 贊助，這是個獨特的送禮體驗，適合父親節、生日或任何你正在慶祝的時刻。

Sendacake sent us the three layer for him explosion box loaded with paper, butterflies that fly out and a little something sweet because that's probably what dad really wants for Father's Day.

Sendacake 送給我們「給他的三層爆炸盒」，裡面裝滿了紙蝴蝶，一打開就會飛出來，還有一些甜點，因為這大概是爸爸在父親節最想要的。

Just just let him eat his mini cake in peace.

就讓他安靜地吃他的迷你蛋糕吧。

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鴨嘴獸一點也不怪，怪的是你！ (Platypuses Aren't Weird, You Are)

weird

sort

bunch

apparently