Echidna

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Echidna, also spiny anteater, common name for a type of egg-laying mammal (see Monotreme). The short-nosed echidna found in Australia is about 35 to 53 cm (about 14 to 21 in) long, exclusive of a short tail, and has a broad body mounted upon short, strong legs. The legs have powerful claws, adapting the animal for rapid digging into hard ground. The back is covered with stiff spines mixed with long, coarse hairs. The head is small, and the nose is prolonged into a slender snout. The toothless mouth has an extensile, glutinous tongue suitable for catching ants, termites, and other small insects. Mating occurs once a year. The female lays one egg, or rarely two eggs, after a gestation period of 9 to 27 days. The female then places the egg in a pouchlike area of abdominal skin, where it hatches after about 10 to 11 days. The offspring is carried in the pouch until it is about 55 days old, when it becomes able to walk. A somewhat larger subspecies of the short-nosed echidna is native to Tasmania. The New Guinean echidna has a long, curved snout and grows as long as 75 cm (30 in). In locations where ants and termites are abundant, the smaller echidnas make useful pets; they are long-lived and, despite their bristly coat, are gentle in disposition. Human beings, who sometimes eat them, are the only natural enemies of echidnas.

Scientific classification: Echidnas belong to the order Monotremata. The short-nosed echidna is classified as Tachyglossus aculeatus, the Tasmanian echidna as Tachyglossus aculeatus setosus, and the New Guinean echidna as Zaglossus bruijni.

See Pictures of Mammals