How to Use monotreme in a Sentence

monotreme

noun
  • This group includes living mammals that lay eggs like the platypus called monotremes.
    — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 4 Apr. 2024
  • The platypus is part of a small group of animals called monotremes, which lay eggs and produce milk to feed their young.
    — Maria Clark, NOLA.com, 19 Mar. 2018
  • Egg-laying mammals, or the monotremes, which include the platypus and echidna, don’t.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
  • Every mammal gives birth to live young, except for a handful of egg-laying monotremes like the platypus.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 9 Apr. 2026
  • While the ancestors of today’s monotremes had teeth, the living species do not and instead grind their food inside their mouths.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 June 2024
  • Also known as spiny anteaters, these iconic monotremes are native to Australia and New Guinea.
    — Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2024
  • Though monotremes' fossil record is limited, some skulls have been found, such as the extinct Obdurodon dicksoni.
    — National Geographic, 30 July 2016
  • Why did those teeth end up disappearing altogether in modern monotremes?
    — Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 7 June 2024
  • Eventually, after years of study and intense debate, the platypus was classified as a type of primitive mammal known as a monotreme.
    — Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
  • Using camera traps, scientists captured definitive images of the elusive species, one of only five monotremes known to exist.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 31 Dec. 2025
  • Their bills even include electroreceptors, allowing our humble monotreme to detect living electrical fields produced by its prey.
    — Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023
  • That diversity represents another look at the evolution of monotremes.
    — Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 29 May 2024
  • The placentals include all living mammals except marsupials and monotremes.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
  • That includes all mammals except marsupials (like kangaroos and possums) and monotremes (like platypuses and echidnas).
    — Sarah Leupen, The Conversation, 5 Apr. 2023
  • Content includes video, images, and questions designed to teach students about mammals, birds, primates, bears, reptiles, monotremes, marsupials and others.
    — Tracy Maness, Houston Chronicle, 6 Apr. 2020
  • Both the diversity and abundance of monotreme fossils from that site paint a picture of a very different Australian mammalian landscape — one populated with furry egg-layers.
    — Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 29 May 2024
  • Evolutionary tree appearance depends on focus Marsupials such as opossums, or monotremes such as the platypus, are often shown at the bottom or left side of an evolutionary tree.
    — Kevin Omland, The Conversation, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Their unique spot on the evolutionary tree as one of the only two living representatives of the monotreme order (besides echidnas) could even offer insights into the lifestyles of our long-extinct ancestors.
    — Connor Lynch, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2022
  • With webbed feet, beaver-like tails, duck bills, water-resistant coats and venom-secreting spurs on their hind legs, platypuses might be Australia’s most mysterious and charismatic monotreme, or primitive egg-laying mammals.
    — Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Jan. 2020
  • But not in the Somalian blind cavefish or placental mammals, which include every mammal aside from five monotreme species (most famously the platypus) and a couple hundred marsupials (kangaroos, koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils and the like).
    — Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'monotreme.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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