Fully grown females can weigh about 4.5 kilograms (9.9 lb), the males 33% larger, at about 6 kilograms (13 lb). The average lifespan of an echidna in the wild is estimated at 14–16 years. AnatomyĮchidnas and platypuses are the only egg-laying mammals, the monotremes. Individual echidnas have large, mutually overlapping territories. They sometimes use the burrows (both abandoned and in use) of animals such as rabbits and wombats. Echidnas are found in forests and woodlands, hiding under vegetation, roots or piles of debris. HabitatĮchidnas do not tolerate extreme temperatures they shelter from harsh weather in caves and rock crevices. Like all mammals, echidnas feed their young on milk, which contains various factors to sustain their growth and development. Echidnas' faeces are 7 cm (3 in) long and are cylindrical in shape they are usually broken and unrounded, and composed largely of dirt and ant-hill material. They have no teeth, so they break down their food by grinding it between the bottoms of their mouths and their tongues. The tongues of long-beaked echidnas have sharp, tiny spines that help them capture their prey. The short-beaked echidna's diet consists mostly of ants and termites, while the Zaglossus (long-beaked) species typically eat worms and insect larvae. The first European drawing of an echidna was made in Adventure Bay, Tasmania by HMS Providence's third lieutenant George Tobin during William Bligh's second breadfruit voyage. When swimming, they expose their snout and some of their spines, and are known to journey to water to bathe. At 33 ☌ (91.4 ☏), echidnas also possess the second-lowest active body temperature of all mammals, behind the platypus.ĭespite their appearance, echidnas are capable swimmers, as they evolved from platypus-like ancestors. The external ear is created by a large cartilaginous funnel, deep in the muscle. The ears are slits on the sides of their heads under the spines. Echidnas have tiny mouths and toothless jaws, and feed by tearing open soft logs, anthills and the like, and licking off prey with their long, sticky tongues. Their hind claws are elongated and curved backwards to aid in digging. Įchidnas have short, strong limbs with large claws, and are powerful diggers. This is similar to the platypus, which has 40,000 electroreceptors on its bill, but the long-beaked echidna has only 2,000, while the short-beaked echidna, which lives in a drier environment, has no more than 400 at the tip of its snout. They have elongated and slender snouts that function as both mouth and nose, and which have electrosensors to find earthworms, termites, ants, and other burrowing prey. There have been several reports of albino echidnas with pink eyes and white spines. They are usually black or brown in coloration. Superficially, they resemble the anteaters of South America and other spiny mammals such as hedgehogs and porcupines. The spines are modified hairs and are made of keratin, the same fibrous protein that makes up fur, claws, nails, and horn sheaths in animals. Physical characteristicsĮchidnas are medium-sized, solitary mammals covered with coarse hair and spines. Īn alternative explanation is a confusion with Ancient Greek: ἐχῖνος, romanized: ekhînos, lit.'hedgehog, sea urchin'. EtymologyĮchidnas are possibly named after Echidna, a creature from Greek mythology who was half-woman, half-snake, as the animal was perceived to have qualities of both mammals and reptiles. This ancestor was aquatic, but echidnas adapted to life on land. Their young are called puggles.Įchidnas evolved between 20 and 50 million years ago, descending from a platypus-like monotreme. The diet of some species consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the American true anteaters or to hedgehogs. The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the only surviving members of the order Monotremata. Echidnas ( / ɪ ˈ k ɪ d n ə z/), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae / t æ k i ˈ ɡ l ɒ s ɪ d iː/, living in Australia and New Guinea.
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