A breakthrough by Australian scientists has found that the platypus - which is already a unique creature - is also in possession of fairly unique biochemistry.
Researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Deakin University have discovered a special protein contained in platypus milk.
CSIRO scientist and lead author Dr Janet Newman said: "Platypus are such weird animals that it would make sense for them to have weird biochemistry.
"The platypus belongs to the monotreme family, a small group of mammals that lay eggs and produce milk to feed their young.
"By taking a closer look at their milk, we've characterised a new protein that has unique antibacterial properties with the potential to save lives."
The study, published in Structural Biology Communications, finds that the way platypus mothers feed their young - which unusually for mammals hatch from eggs - has led to the antibacterial properties developing.
Platypus do not have teats, but instead express milk on to their belly where the young suckle it - meaning the milk becomes exposed to an environment where it could be contaminated by local bacteria.
Evolutionary processes have meant that the milk contains a special protein which protects the platypus babies against this bacteria.Dr Julie Sharp of Deakin University said: "We were interested to examine the protein's structure and characteristics to find out exactly what part of the protein was doing what."
They found that the protein contained a unique 3D fold which had never been seen before in the structure of the molecule.
Because of the ringlet style of the gold, they named it the "Shirley Temple" in tribute to the child star's distinctive hair.
Dr Newman added: "Although we've identified this highly unusual protein as only existing in monotremes, this discovery increases our knowledge of protein structures in general, and will go on to inform other drug discovery work done at the Centre," Dr Newman said.
The work of the team follows a report in 2014 in which the World Health Organisaiton warned about the threat posed by antibiotic resistance.
The WHO said urgent action was needed to avoid a "post-antibiotic era" where common medicines were unable to tackle common infections, and currently curable ailments would again become deadly.
The team at CSIRO are seeing collaborators to investigate the potential life-saving benefits of their platypus research, and develop more knowledge about the protein structure.
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