Platypus

 A ‘living fossil’ has been determined as ‘an organism that has remained essentially unchanged from earlier geological times and who’s close relatives are usually extinct’ (Merriam-Webster, 1859). This is suggesting that the Duck-billed Platypus, more commonly known as the Platypus, would still be in its primitive form and have similar characteristics to it ancestors. Anyone looking at the Platypus can identify its abnormalities as it is so distinctively unique in the animal kingdom. Its name on its own is a contradiction as we know that the Platypus is not the same species as a duck, yet they have been brought together. Anyone observing the animal can see that it has a bill and webbed feet like a duck, sleek fur like an otter, and a paddle-shaped tail like a beaver.