echidnas

Echidnas, commonly known as spiny anteaters, are small to medium-sized egg-laying mammals native to Australia and New Guinea. They are monotremes, a primitive lineage that also includes the platypus. There are two genera: Tachyglossus, the short-beaked echidna of Australia, and Zaglossus, the long-beaked echidnas of New Guinea (three widely recognized species: Zaglossus bartoni, Zaglossus bruijni, and Zaglossus attenboroughi).

They are covered with coarse spines, except under the throat and belly. They have a long, tubular snout that functions as both nose and mouth, housing a long, extensible and sticky tongue for licking up ants and termites. They have no teeth; food is ground up in a muscular stomach. They possess electroreceptors in their beak to locate prey and strong forelimbs with large claws for digging. They have limited neck mobility and relatively poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell.

Reproduction is unique among mammals. Echidnas lay eggs: the female deposits a single egg that hatches after about ten days, producing a young called a puggle. The puggle stays in a temporary pouch on the female’s abdomen and, after emerging, continues to nurse on milk secreted by mammary glands, which lack nipples. Milk is absorbed through the skin and fur.

Echidnas occupy a wide range of habitats, from deserts and grasslands to forests and highlands. They are mostly solitary and primarily nocturnal or crepuscular. Diet consists mainly of ants and termites, foraged by probing soil and wood with the snout. Conservation status varies by species; some populations are widespread and secure, while others in New Guinea have restricted ranges and face threats from habitat loss and hunting.