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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
Why do Australians call echidnas porkies?
They don't.
A "porky" is a lie. If someone has told you that Australians call echidnas porkies, they are telling you a porky.
Some people may call them porkies for two reasons - porkie is short for porcupine and, even though echidnas are not related to porcupines, they have sharp spines like porcupines do. Also, the word porcupine rhymes with spine (the sharp quills on an echidna) and Australians are fond of rhyming slang.
The echidna is not a water-dweller, but it does go into th water. Though its body shape and spines would seem to inhibit its swimming ability, the echidna actually swims quite well, and even uses swimming as a means to regulate its own temperature.
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.
What is the aboriginal name for echidna?
There are hundreds of aboriginal dialects in Australia. Some of the words for echidna, according to different dialects, are:
- nynghan
- biggie-billa or bigibila
- ganyi
- thargomindah
- inga linga
How much does and a echidna adult weight?
It depends on the species. A fully grown short-beaked male echidna weighs about 6 kilograms, while females have a mass of around 4.5 kilograms.
Long-beaked echidnas are larger, and may weigh between 4.2 and 9.1 kg.
Do short beaked echidnas lay hard shelled eggs?
No. Both species of echidnas, the short-beaked and the long-beaked echidna, lay soft-shelled, leathery eggs. This is the same as the platypus, the other monotreme, or egg-laying mammal.
It is a monotreme, or mammal that lays eggs. It is sometimes known as a spiny anteater.
Do echidnas give birth to live young?
No. Echidnas are monotremes, meaning they are egg-laying mammals. They do not give birth to live young, but lay eggs in order to reproduce.
If you ran over an echidna would you get a puncture?
Yes you could. It depends on the direction the echidna is facing when you hit it. The spikes break off and keep working into the tyres so you may get multiple flat tyres from the one hit.
How many spines do echidnas have?
They have hundreds of spines; depending on the breed. See Related Links.
Is Silver the Hedgehog stronger than Knuckles the Echidna?
No, knuckles is the strongest brute strength wise
What is a Spiny Anteater's young?
The correct name for the spiny anteater is echidna.
There is no specific term for a baby echidna.
There are some reports that they are called puggles. This is incorrect. The term "puggle" developed as a name for baby echidnas, as they resembled "Puggles", an American soft-toy character. The company producing the "Puggles" toy considered legal action against the unauthorised use of the term "puggles". Whether or not this action went ahead is undetermined, but it could quite possibly be illegal to use the word for anything other than the soft toy.
What is the offspring of echidnas?
Contrary to popular myth, there is no official term for the offspring of echidnas. The term "puggle" has reportedly been used in Australian bush lore as a name for baby echidnas for many decades. There have been claims that it developed as a name for baby echidnas, as they resembled "Puggles", an American soft-toy character. Perhaps because echidnas and platypuses are both monotremes, the term began to be applied to young platypus as well.
The company producing the "Puggles" toy considered legal action against the unauthorised use of the term "puggles". Whether or not this action went ahead is undetermined, and some have alleged that it could be illegal to use the word for anything other than the soft toy.
Why does an echidna swallow soil?
because it trys to eat the ants on the dirt and accidentally eats the dirt (soil)
How does an echidna obtain oxygen?
An echidna is a monotreme (egg-laying mammal) along with the platypus. It uses lungs and breathes in air to obtain oxygen just like people.
Echidnas could be said to be carnivores but, more specifically, they are insectivores, living on a diet almost exclusively comprised of ants and termites. They will also eat other invertebrates such as grubs, larvae and worms.
It is unknown how many echidnas are left because they are listed as "common" throughout Australia. They can be found in a range of habitats, from sub-alpine forests to semi-arid desert land.
Do Aborigines eat cooked echidna?
It is unlikely that the Australian Aborigines eat cooked echidna nowadays, but they certainly used to, when they still lived a traditional lifestyle.
Do echidnas store food for the winter?
No. Echidnas feed primarily on termites and ants. These are not things an echidna can store up: nor does it need to, as termites and ants are plentiful throughout Australia all year around.
Are long beaked echidnas and porcupines from the same family?
Not at all. Echidnas and porcupines are not even remotely related.
Echidnas are monotremes, or egg-laying mammals. porcupines are placental mammals, a quite different order of mammals.
Who did Sonic the Hedgehog meet first tails or knuckles the echidna?
Sonic met Tails first, then Knuckles.
Who does knuckles the echidna marry?
Some say that he marries Julie-Su the Echidna, but it is unknown.
