Echidna
(Spiny Anteater)
Possibly Endangered
Scientific Name: Tachyglossus aculeatus
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
Subclass: Earliest Mammals (Prototheria)
Order: One-Holed Mammals (Monotremata)
Family: Tachyglossidae.
The Name "echidna": "Echidna" derives from the Latin word for "viper," probably because of the snake-like tongue the echidna uses to lick up the insects it eats.
Located: Australia, Tasmania, southern New Guinea
Habitat: Terrestrial. The echidna (which is also called a spiny anteater) lives among rocks and in hollow logs. Even though it doesn't dig its own tunnels, when an echidna needs to escape an enemy, it can quickly burrow straight down into the soil.
Description: The echidna has a small tail and a narrow beak. (Can you tell which end is which in the picture at the top of this page?) There are short-beaked echidnas and long-beaked echidnas. The mouth is toothless and very tiny. The body is heavy and round. Everywhere except the belly, it is covered with coarse hairs and short, pointy spines. (They're very different than the spines on a porcupine!) Each foot has five toes with strong claws. On each hind foot there is an extra long, curved claw on the second toe; the echidna uses this claw to clean between its spines. Males grow to about 13½ to 17½ inches in length and weigh about 6½ to 14½ pounds. Females are somewhat smaller.
Behavior: The spiny anteater is an nocturnal animal. He becomes active at twilight and spends the rest of the night digging out ants and termites which he pulls in with his long, sticky tongue. His vision is weak, but he has a strong sense of smell and sharp hearing. The echidna can go without food for long periods of time. When threatened, the echidna can quickly roll into a prickly ball for protection.
Reproduction: The female echidna normally lays one egg, although it can occasionally lay two or even three. She keeps the egg warm for about ten days in a temporary pouch on her abdomen. When the baby echidna hatches, it begins suckling milk inside the pouch, where it will live until its spines begin to appear. At that point, the mother puts her baby in a sheltered place and goes about her business. She returns to suckle the baby every day for three months, when it is old enough to find food on its own.
Below is a picture of the Long-Nosed Echidna, which lives only in New Guinea:
Go to the Monotremes Page to learn more about these unique animals.
Go to the Duckbill Platypus, the only other Monotreme listed in America Zoo.
Study the other Anteaters by comparing and contrasting them to the Echidna or Spiny Anteater.
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