Where do the platypus and the echidna live?

Answer 1

The platypus and one species of echidna, the short-beaked echidna, both live in Australia. The short-beaked echidna and the long-beaked echidna are both found on the island of New Guinea.

The platypus can live in a variety of biomes within Australia.

• Platypuses can be found in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate rainforests
• They can be found in wet or dry sclerophyll forest (bushland)
• They are also found in sub-alpine forests

Platypuses live in burrows they dig in the banks of freshwater creeks, rivers and dams.

Echidnas are found throughout most of Australia, and are highly adaptable to a wide range of environments, which has been one of the reasons why they are not threatened by habitat loss. They live anywhere from bushland and woodlands, rocky areas as long as the soil is loose enough to dig, snowy mountains, sandy plains, heath, grasslands, semi-arid environments and deserts. Echidnas can be found wherever there are termites and ants.

Answer 2

Platypuses and echidnas are monotremes, or mammals that lay eggs. There are just two known monotremes, the platypus and the echidna, although there are two species of echidna.

• Platypus - indigenous to Australia alone
• Short-beaked echidna, sometimes known as the spiny anteater - also indigenous to Australia and a limited part of New Guinea.
• Long-beaked echidna - found in the New Guinea highlands

There are three subspecies of the long-beaked echidna: the Western long-beaked echidna, the eastern long-beaked echidna and Sir David's long-beaked echidna.