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Echidnas
Sometimes known as the spiny anteater, the echidna is an egg-laying mammal of Australia and New Guinea. It has adapted to living in a variety of habitats, from deserts to mountains, as long as there is a ready source of its favorite food of termites. Questions and answers about echidnas can be found here.
315 Questions
What is the Australian echidna's food chain?
Platypuses, especially small ones, can be eaten by a variety of predators including spotted-tailed quoll, dingo, feral cat, goannas, water rats, owls and pythons. The platypus is midway in the food chain. Whilst there are other animals that prey upon this creature the platypus, in turn, is carnivorous and preys on small crustaceans, larvae and fish that live underwater.
Within its niche in creeks and rivers, the platypus is the top predator; below it are the shrimp and small crustaceans upon which it feeds; they, in turn, feed on zooplankton, which feed on phytoplankton.
Does the spiny anteater lay eggs or give birth?
Spiny anteaters, more properly known as echidnas, have eggs in order to ensure the continuity of their own kind. They are monotremes, which means that they are egg-laying mammals, like the platypus.
Echidnas in Australia are insectivorous. Short-beaked echidnas live almost exclusively on termites, although they also eat ants. Echidnas have large claws for breaking open termite mounds (which, in much of Australia, are made from mud). They have long sticky tongues, about 15cm long, with which they catch the termites. Echidnas also look for termites under old, rotting logs, their preferred locale. The long-beaked echidna, which is found only on the island of New Guinea, feeds mainly on worms and insect larvae.
What did the word 'echidna' come from?
The echidna (Tachyglossus Aculeatus) was named after the Greek monster Echidna, who was half snake (reptile) and half woman (mammal). She was known as the "Mother of all Monsters" as most of the monsters in Greek mythology were said to have mothered by Echidna.
The most obvious reptilian characteristic of the echidna is that it lays eggs. The mammalian characteristics of the echidna is that they are warm-blooded, have fur, produce milk and suckle their young.
For more information on Echidna the monster, see the related link.
As for the echidna's scientific name of Tachyglossus - this means "Fast tongue". The echidna lives primarily on termites and ants, collecting them from nests by flicking its tongue in and out very quickly to capture the insects. The echidna's tongue moves at a speed of around 100 times per minute.
Yes: echidnas are quite real. Echidnas are egg-laying mammals that live throughout Australia, from the desert, to bushland, to sub-alpine mountain habitats.
How are Hedgehogs different to echidnas?
One of the major differences between porcupines, hedgehogs and echidnas concerns the quills. A porcupine's quills are extremely sharp and barbed - and very dangerous. They detach easily when they have been embedded into the victim's skin. They are not venomous, but can certainly cause infection.
A hedgehog's quills (compared to a porcupine's) are very dull and are NOT barbed - not dangerous at all.
An echidna's quills are sharp, but unlikely to cause infection - just a lot of pain.
The defence mechanisms of hedgehogs, echidnas and porcupines vary tremendously. Hedgehogs roll up into a ball for protection. Echidnas may roll up, though not into as tight a ball as a hedgehog, or they may dig straight down, horizontally, into the ground so that while they are digging, only their quills are exposed. Porcupines arch their back, which has the effect of making the quills stand straight up. They have strong, armoured tails which they thrash about to hit a potential predator. Once their barbs embed in the skin of their attacker, they expand, forcing the quill deeper into the attacker's flesh.
Other points:
- One species of hedgehogs has been domesticated. Neither porcupines nor echidnas are domesticated.
- Porcupines are larger than echidnas, which are larger than hedgehogs.
- Hedgehogs have around 3000 - 7000 quills which average 2.5cm in length; porcupines have around 30,000 quills which average 5cm in length.
- Hedgehogs are often favoured by gardeners because they eat slugs and other garden pests. Porcupines eat the actual vegetation, including flower buds and leaves. Echdinas feed almost exclusively on termites and ants.
- Hedgehogs hibernate during winter; porcupines and echidnas do not.
- Wild porcupines are found in North and South America, Africa and Asia. Wild hedgehogs are found in Africa, Europe and Asia. Echidnas are found in Australia and on the island of New Guinea.
Echidnas do not have many predators, due to their sharp spines.
The main enemies of the echidna affect them when they are young. Snakes will sometimes enter their burrow and eat the baby echidna. Other animals do not usually attempt to eat this spiky creature, but some echidna predators include very brave foxes and goannas. Goannas will dig into an echidna's burrow and eat the young.
A fascinating museum exhibit in Australia shows a fossilised snake eating a fossilised echidna. It would appear the echidna's spikes caught as it was being swallowed by the snake, and both creatures perished.
Echidnas breathe using lungs, the same as other mammals.
What is the collective name for an ECHIDNA?
It depends on the species.
There are only two species of echidnas: the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) of Australia, and the long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijni) of New Guinea. There are several sub-speciesof the long-beaked echidna: the Western long-beaked echidna, Sir David's long-beaked echidna and the Eastern long-beaked echidna.
Why are the echidnas important?
Echinoderms are scavengers of decaying matter on the sea floor. They help control the growth of seaweeds in coral reefs, thus allowing corals to flourish. The removal of Echinoderms would result in the overgrowth of seaweeds and the devastation of coral reef habitats, affecting the sea animals that inhabit coral reefs,
No. The echidna has no venom in its spines or anywhere else. Like a platypus, the male echidna has a spur on its hind leg, but unlike the male platypus, the echidna's spur is not connected to a venom gland.
What effect do humans have on echidnas?
Yes. However, the impact of people on echidnas tends to be less than their impact on some other animal species. Echidnas are among the animals least impacted by European settlement of Australia, as they are found in such a wide range of habitats.
Do echidnas live in the water?
Not necessarily. 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.
Echidnas are able to live virtually anywhere, including 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.
The echidna found throughout Australia is the short-beaked echidna. It is also found in the lowlands of southeast New Guinea. The long-beaked echidna is a rarer species, found only in New Guinea. This species ranges from low-level coastal regions to rainforests in mountainous area, and is certainly not found in deserts.
What does an echidna look like?
Echidnas are small, spiky monotremes (egg-laying mammals) native to Australia and New Guinea. They are between 30cm and 45cm long, with a mass of 2kg to 5kg. Echidnas in the south are larger than their northern counterparts.
Insulating an echidna's body is fur which varies in colour from light brown to darker brown, reddish brown and sometimes black. The further north an echidna lives, the lighter the colouring. They can be quite light brown in northern areas of Australia, and black in Tasmania. Again, echidnas in the south have thicker fur than that of their northern counterparts.
More obvious are their lighter-coloured spines which protrude up to 5cm long, and protect them from predators. They do not have spines on their stomachs.
Echidnas also have long snouts with which they sniff out termites, which are then caught on the echidna's 15cm long tongue. They have sharp claws for digging into termite mounds, though they prefer to find their termites under rotting logs.
During breeding season, the female echidna develops a pouch, where she lays and incubates her egg. The pouch is little more than a fold of skin, and even the male can develop a pouch.
well, it is fast if you take in consideration that its legs are tiny and stubby. but compared to other animals it is slow.
What is the synonym for echidna 'spines'?
Spiny Anteater is another name for the echidna. However, echidnas are not related to anteaters at all, despite the name. Echidnas are monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, while anteaters a placental mammals. Echidnas have sharp spines, hence the name 'spiny' and they feed primarily on termites, as well as ants.
How many long beaked echidnas are left in the world?
It is unknown how many echidnas there are in Australia. The echidna is common throughout Australia because it is very adaptable and can be found in all habitats, from sub-alpine regions to hot, semi-arid and arid desert regions. All it needs to survive is a ready supply of ants and termites to eat.
What do Australian echidnas eat?
The species of echidna found in Australia is the short-beaked echidna. Echidnas of Australia live almost exclusively on termites, although they also eat ants. Echidnas have large claws for breaking open termite mounds (which, in much of Australia, are made from mud). They have long sticky tongues, about 15cm long, with which they catch the termites. Echidnas also look for termites under old, rotting logs, their preferred locale.
Spiny anteaters are properly known as echidnas. Echidnas live almost exclusively on termites, although they also eat ants. Echidnas have large claws for breaking open termite mounds (which, in much of Australia, are made from mud). They have long sticky tongues, about 15cm long, with which they catch the termites. Echidnas also look for termites under old, rotting logs, their preferred locale.
Are spiny anteaters monotremes?
Yes. The spiny anteater, more correctly known as the echidna, is a monotreme. This means it is an egg-laying mammal which feeds its young on mothers' milk, one of only two such types of animals in the world. The other monotreme is the platypus.
Why is the Long-beaked Echidna on the brink of extinction?
The biggest threat to echidnas occurs when they are young. Snakes will sometimes enter their burrow and eat the baby echidna. Other animals do not usually attempt to eat this spiky creature, but some echidna predators include very brave foxes, and goannas.
A fascinating museum exhibit in Australia shows a fossilised snake eating a fossilised echidna. It would appear the echidna's spikes caught as it was being swallowed by the snake, and both creatures perished.
Man poses a threat to echidnas also, mostly through running over the creature. Echidnas are among the native animals least susceptible to habitat loss, as they can survive anywhere there is a supply of termites and ants, and this includes in suburban areas. They have absolutely no defence against cars, however.
Monotremes are egg-laying mammals. The echidna lays eggs in order to reproduce, and it is a mammal because it has fur and suckles its young on mothers' milk.
The name monotreme / Monotremata is derived from two Greek words meaning "one-holed", because they have just one external opening, the cloaca, for both waste elimination and for reproduction. The cloaca leads to the urinary, faecal and reproductive tracks, all of which join internally, and it is the orifice by which the female monotreme lays her eggs. Echidnas have this physiology.
