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Description
This odd beaky mammal is Bertodanotherium, a basal Anatophocoid Monotreme from the Early Eocene of Seymour Island, Antarctica. Descended from Australian and Zealandian forebears, this 1.2m piscivore lived along the temperate shorelines of the world's most southerly continent. Known from several specimens, Alter Earth scientists were able to put together a relatively decent picture of this ancient swimming mammal. Overall, we can be fairly certain that B. exilum was a nimble hunter of small fish and cephalopods, as a near complete upper jaw was found in association with the type specimen. The bill would have been similar to those of the platypus from Our World, except narrower and with a slight hook at the tip. The tail was also rather long and not flattened, forming an important element of propulsion while underwater. Unlike its benthic foraging relative Rossorhynchus, known from the same time and place, B. exilum seems to have caught it's prey higher in the water column nearer to the surface. Although the animal's breeding habits are not known, it has been inferred that they would need to return to the shore to mate and lay their eggs. This, in addition the enlarged hindlimbs of the animal, sets it apart from it's modern Holocene relatives, which give birth to live young and possess far more powerful forelimbs.

Description
This odd beaky mammal is Bertodanotherium, a basal Anatophocoid Monotreme from the Early Eocene of Seymour Island, Antarctica. Descended from Australian and Zealandian forebears, this 1.2m piscivore lived along the temperate shorelines of the world's most southerly continent. Known from several specimens, Alter Earth scientists were able to put together a relatively decent picture of this ancient swimming mammal. Overall, we can be fairly certain that B. exilum was a nimble hunter of small fish and cephalopods, as a near complete upper jaw was found in association with the type specimen. The bill would have been similar to those of the platypus from Our World, except narrower and with a slight hook at the tip. The tail was also rather long and not flattened, forming an important element of propulsion while underwater. Unlike its benthic foraging relative Rossorhynchus, known from the same time and place, B. exilum seems to have caught it's prey higher in the water column nearer to the surface. Although the animal's breeding habits are not known, it has been inferred that they would need to return to the shore to mate and lay their eggs. This, in addition the enlarged hindlimbs of the animal, sets it apart from it's modern Holocene relatives, which give birth to live young and possess far more powerful forelimbs.