Overview
- The peer-reviewed study, led by Ghent University’s Jessica Dobson, was published March 17, 2026 in Biology Letters.
- Electron microscopy of hair from 12 platypuses confirmed hollow melanosomes, a morphology not found in the team’s broader dataset covering 126 mammal species.
- Echidnas, the platypus’s closest relatives, lacked the trait, indicating it is not shared across monotremes.
- Hollow melanosomes are common in birds but mammals typically have solid ones, making this the first documented case in a mammal.
- The platypus structures are spherical and non‑iridescent, and researchers propose aquatic or insulation-related hypotheses that require targeted comparative tests.