Echidnas are spiky and slow-moving mammals that have long or short beaks. They’re also known as spiny anteaters because like anteaters they lack teeth and rely on their long, sticky tongues to catch invertebrates.
It is suggested that the echidna is named after a creature in Greek mythology, ekhidna, a half-woman, half-snake, which can be considered as having a blend of mammalian and reptilian characteristics. Along with platypuses, echidnas are monotremes (they lay eggs rather than bear live young) but they also have fur and produce milk.
What's the scientific family name for echidnas?
The scientific name for echidnas is Tachyglossidae.
How long are echidnas?
Echidnas are around 35.6cm to 76.2cm long.
How fast can echidnas move?
Echidnas can moved at speeds of maximum 2.3kmph.
How much do echidnas weigh?
Echidnas weigh from 2.27kg to 9.98kg.
Are echidnas related to hedgehogs or porcupines?
Echidnas have been compared to porcupines and hedgehogs because of their spines but they are unrelated and very different. For example, porcupines are rodents that have quills not spines, which they can detach, and hedgehogs are placental mammals.
Why do echidnas have spines?
An echidna’s spines are hollow hair follicles that can measure up to 12.7cm and are used to deter predators such as foxes, goannas (lizards) and feral cats. When an echidna feels threatened it will roll up into a ball to protect itself or use its claws to dig its way out of danger, partially burying itself with only its spines exposed. These mammals are also covered in short fur for insulation.
What do echidnas eat?
Echidnas have an excellent sense of smell and use electroreceptors in their beaks to detect electrical signals given off by their prey. The animals probe the soil with their beaks and dig in search of a meal. They feed on termites, ants, earthworms, beetles and insect larvae, and grind their food against the bottom of their mouth.
Do echidna have teeth?
Echidna are toothless. They rely on their long, sticky tongues to capture prey, which they grind between their tongue and roof of their mouth.
How do echidnas keep cool?
As they live in hot climates, echidnas have adapted a unique way to keep cool. They blow snot bubbles – as the moisture evaporates, it helps them cool down.
How many species of echidna are there?
There are four species of echidna: short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), eastern long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bartoni), western long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijnii) and Sir David's long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), which is named after broadcaster Sir David Attenborough.
Where do echidnas live?
Most echidna species inhabit forest, shrubland or grassland. The nocturnal mammals use natural shelters such as hollow logs, rock crevices and existing burrows to rest in, regulate their temperature and avoid predators. They are found in Indonesia (eastern long-beaked echidna, western long-beaked echidna, short-beaked echidna and Sir David’s long-beaked echidna, which only occurs in a 20km2 area of Indonesia); Papua New Guinea (eastern long-beaked echidna and short-beaked echidna) and Australia (short-beaked echidna).
What is their conservation status?
Sir David’s long-beaked echidna and the western long-beaked echidna are Critically Endangered with decreasing populations. The eastern long-beaked echidna is Vulnerable with a decreasing population, and the short-beaked echidna is Least Concern with a stable population because it has a wide distribution and there appear to be no major threats to the species over most of its range.
Do echidnas face any threats?
According to the IUCN, “All long-beaked echidnas [Zaglossus species] are highly susceptible to human predation with the use of trained hunting dogs able to detect and follow the animals to their daytime retreats, even in densely forested habitat.” The species is commonly hunted primarily for consumption by local people. Habitat degradation and conversion has resulted in the regional extinction of Zaglossus species, probably because it increases the likelihood of detection and predation.
How long do echidnas live?
Although breeding is slow, echidnas can live for a long time with a documented maximum lifespan of 50 years in captivity and 48 years in the wild. On average, however, they live from 10 to 16 years in the wild.
How do echidnas breed?
“The life history of long-beaked echidnas is unknown but probably similar to that of the short-beaked echidna… which rears a single young at a time, has a long weaning period [approximately seven months] and slow sexual maturation,” reports the IUCN.
What is a baby echidna called?
A baby echidna is called a puggle.
How do echidnas lay an egg?
Approximately 20 days after mating, the female deposits a leathery egg into her abdominal pouch, and after about 10 days, the puggle hatches. The pouch contains special glands that secrete milk and the puggle will remain here for about eight weeks. It will then be moved by its mother to a protective nursery burrow for approximately five months, and she will return every few days to feed it. Once the youngster reaches seven months, it is left to grow independently.
How do echidnas mate?
During the breeding season, males seek females and form “trains”. These “trains” can include 10 or more males (younger males at the back) and trail a female until she signals she is ready to mate. When the female stretches out on the ground, a trench is dug around her by the males while they compete and push each other out of the way. The dominant victor mates with the female using a unique reproductive organ.
Why do males have a strange appendage?
Male echidnas have a four-headed penis. According to South Australia’s Department for Environment and Water, “Two of the heads “shut down” while the other two grow larger to fit inside the female echidna’s two-branched reproductive tract. Echidnas alternate which heads they use when mating with different partners.” Although the internal reproductive organs differ, both male and female echidnas have cloaca openings.
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Main image: a short-beaked echidna. Credit: Getty
