Echidna, the spiny anteater,[1] is a monotreme that lives in Australia and in New Guinea. They are the living members of the family Tachyglossidae.
| Echidna Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Short-beaked echidna | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Monotremata |
| Suborder: | Tachyglossa |
| Family: | Tachyglossidae Gill, 1872 |
| Species | |
|
Genus Tachyglossus | |
Echnidas have a long, tube-like mouth with a sticky tongue. They are also covered in spines. They have mammary glands, and lay eggs.[2]
The echidna has a method of protecting itself. With its long, sharp claws, they quickly dig a hole until only their spines are showing when they are hiding in the hole. The predator is not be able to get it without injuring itself on the spines. When there is a fire, the echidna digs down out of reach of the fire.
Prey
changeThe short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus) eats termites and ants. The three Zaglossus species also eat other small insects and grubs. Echidnas pick up the prey with their sticky tongues. There is a separate page for Zaglossus.
Species
change- Family Tachyglossidae
References
change- ↑ Echidna Retrieved on 21 October 2007
- ↑ "7 things you might not know about echidnas". www.environment.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
Other websites
change
- Echidna Archived 2011-05-20 at the Wayback Machine