Echidna

Echidnas, [ɪ'kɪdnə], sometimes also referred to as "spiny anteaters", are the only surviving monotremes apart from the Platypus. The four surviving species, native to New Guinea and Australia, all belong to the Tachyglossidae family. The echidna is named after a monster in ancient Greek mythology.

Taxonomy

Echidnas are classified into three genera. The Zaglossus genus includes three extant species and two species known only from fossils, while only one species from the genus Tachyglossus is known. The third genus, Megalibgwilia is only known from fossils.

Zaglossus

The three living Zaglossus species are endemic to New Guinea. They are rare and are hunted for food. They forage in leaf litter on the forest floor, eating earthworms and insects. The species are:

• The Western Long-beaked Echidna (Zaglossus bruijni) of the highland forests.
• Sir David's Long-beaked Echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), recently discovered, prefers a still higher habitat.
• The Eastern Long-beaked Echidna (Zaglossus bartoni), of which 4 distinct subspecies have been identified

The two fossil species are:

• Zaglossus robustus
• Zaglossus hacketti

Tachyglossus

The Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is found in south east New Guinea and also occurs in almost all Australian environments: from the snow-clad Australian Alps to the deep deserts of the Outback: essentially anywhere that ants and termites are available. Its size is smaller than the Zaglossus species and it has longer hair.

Megalibgwilia

The genus Megalibgwilia is only known from fossils:

• Megalibgwilia ramsayi known from Late Pleistocene sites in Australia
• Megalibgwilia robusta known from Miocene sites in Australia

Description

Echidnas are small mammals that are covered with coarse hair and spines. Superficially they resemble both the anteaters of South America and other spiny mammals like hedgehogs and porcupines. They have snouts which have the functions of both the mouth and nose. Their snouts are elongated and slender. They have very short, strong limbs with large claws and are powerful diggers. Echidnas have a tiny mouth and a toothless jaw. They feed by tearing open soft logs, anthills and the like, and using their long, sticky tongue which protrudes from their snout to collect their prey. The Short-beaked Echidna's diet consists largely of ants and termites, while the Zaglossus species typically eat worms and insect larvae.

The four species of echidna, along with the Platypus, are the only egg-laying mammals. The female lays a single soft-shelled, leathery egg twenty-two days after mating and deposits it directly into her pouch. Hatching takes ten days; the young echidna, called a puggle, then sucks milk from the pores of the two milk patches (monotremes have no nipples) and remains in the pouch for forty-five to fifty-five days, at which time it starts to develop spines. The mother digs a nursery burrow and deposits the puggle, returning every five days to suckle it until it is weaned at seven months.

In popular culture

• Some characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series are echidnas, including Knuckles and Tikal, though many note that they look nothing like the real animal.
• In the BBC TV series The Koala Brothers, Sammy the Echidna runs the General Store.
• An echidna named Millie was used as one of the mascots for the 2000 Olympic Games.
• The Pokémon Cyndaquil bears a resemblance to the echidna.
• Echidna's Arf (Of You) is the name of an instrumental track on the 1974 music recording Roxy & Elsewhere by Frank Zappa and the Mothers.

References

• Flannery, T.F. and Groves, C.P. (1998) A revision of the genus Zaglossus (Monotremata, Tachyglossidae), with description of new species and subspecies. Mammalia 62, 367-396.
• Parker, J., "Echidna Love Trains", "Scribbly Gum" online magazine.
• Rismiller, P., "Echidnas and Goannas of Kangaroo Island", Earthwatch Institute.

Wikipedia information about Echidna This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Echidna". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.