Cloaca
Videos
A cloaca, pl.: cloacae, or vent, is the rear orifice that serves as the only opening for the digestive, reproductive, and urinary tracts of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles, birds, ca
Cloaca of a red-tailed hawk
Cloaca of a female bird
Cloaca of a male bird
A roseate spoonbill excreting urine in flight
Monotreme
Videos
Monotremes are mammals of the order Monotremata. They are the only mammals still in existence which lay eggs, rather than bearing live young. The five extant monotreme species are the platypus and the
Cloaca
…rectum), reproductive, and urinary tracts (if present) of many vertebrate animals. All amphibians, reptiles, birds, cartilaginous fish and a few mammals (monotremes, afrosoricids, and marsupial moles) have this orifice, from which they excrete both urine and feces; this is in contrast to most placental mammals…
Monotreme collage
Platypus
Short-beaked echidna
A model of the extinct monotreme Steropodon at the Australian Museum