# Platypus data-gap entry — 24 October 2026

Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is documented separately from the measurement dataset. It is not added to the analysis sample or candidate count.

## Evidence and provenance

- Confirmed in this update: no platypus/Ornithorhynchus entry in the 280 rows of measurement_audit_pass3.csv.
- Carried forward from the earlier conversation audit: AnAge ID 02622; maximum recorded longevity 22.6 years (captivity); acceptable quality; small sample-size category; adult body mass 1,250 g. These are snapshot fields, not an average lifespan or newly verified current species records.
- Earlier audit reported no platypus tip in the supplied trees. Raw AnAge and tree inputs are not in this ZIP, so those claims have not been independently rechecked in this update.
- Earlier targeted literature searches did not locate a usable CFF measurement. This is not evidence that no such study exists; no new literature search was performed for this bookkeeping update.

## Missing-data rules

CFF is null in JSON and blank in CSV, with an explicit not-available status. It must never be interpreted as zero or inferred from another species. No CFF value, tree tip, branch length, or regression result has been invented.

## Requirements for future inclusion

Locate an original visual flicker-threshold study; verify species, endpoint, numerical threshold/bounds and experimental conditions; independently confirm the AnAge row; establish supported placement and branch lengths in an appropriate phylogeny; then apply the same eligibility rules used for other species. Any scope expansion must be recorded before remaining analyses are registered.

## Effect on the existing audit

The 280 measurement rows, 237 compiled taxon labels, 117-row screening queue and previously reported 94 longevity-quality candidates remain unchanged. The final sample remains unfrozen. At the time this gap entry was added, existing files other than README.md and SHA256SUMS.txt were preserved byte-for-byte. Later documentation revisions are recorded in DOCUMENTATION_REVIEW.md.