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Monotremes
With only three living species, monotremes are a relatively small, unique group of egg-laying mammals. Questions and answers about monotremes, which are native to Australia and New Guinea, can be asked and found here.
138 Questions
What does the spiny egg laying mammal eat?
The correct name for this creature is the "echidna".
There are two species of echidna. 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.
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.
Where do mammals lay there eggs?
The only mammals that lay eggs are echidnas and the Platypus. Female platypuses lay their eggs in their burrows (in riverbanks), which they make over 60 times longer when they are going to lay an egg. A female echidna curls up, lays the egg, and puts it in a pouch on her abdomen.
Which order of mammals are the egg laying mammals?
The order of the egg-laying mammals is Monotremata.
The monotremes include just the platypus and the echidna.
What are the main differences between a monotreme and other mammals?
Monotremes are the only mammals that lay eggs.
Both platypuses and echidnas are monotremes. The name monotreme 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. This is different from other mammals, which have two openings - one for reproduction, and one for waste.
What group includes marsupials monotremes and placental animals?
Marsupials, monotremes and placental animals are members of the group known as mammals, or Mammalia.
Do monotremes live in Australia?
Yes, the short-beaked echidna and the platypus are both indigenous to Australia. The long-beaked echidna lives in the highlands of New Guinea.
No, they are a marsupial and not a monotreme. There are only 2 members in the monotreme category which are the echidna and the platypus.
What animals lay eggs but are still mammals?
Monotremes are mammals which lay eggs.
Monotremes include the platypus, the short-beaked echidna and
the long-beaked echidna.
What's the name of eggs that mammals lay?
The eggs laid by monotremes (egg-laying mammals) are still called eggs. They are soft-shelled and leathery, rather than hard-shelled like birds' eggs.
What is the habitat of egg laying mammals?
There are three known egg-laying mammals, and their habitat is quite varied.
Platypuses live throughout eastern coastal Australia and its island state of Tasmania, particularly within heavily wooded and protected regions. They are found from the cooler sub-alpine areas in the south, such as Victoria and the Tasmanian highlands, north through New South Wales to tropical far north Queensland. Platypuses live in bushland as well as tropical, sub-tropical and temperate rainforests. They live in burrows that they dig on the banks of freshwater creeks, rivers, lakes and dams. The female digs a chamber at the end of a long burrow where she shelters her young.
Short-beaked 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.
The long-beaked echidna is a rarer species, found only in New Guinea. It lives in a range of habitats also, from low-level coastal regions to rainforests high in the mountains.
There are two main types of monotremes: the platypus and the echidnas. Although humans have caused damage to the habitat of the platypus, they are still considered Least Concern. There are four species of echidnas, also called spiny anteaters. Of the four species, three are critically endangered and the fourth is considered Least Concern.
How many eggs do mammals lay per year?
Only two types of mammals lay eggs. They are called monotremes and include just the platypus and the echidna.
The platypus lays 1-3 eggs while the echidna lays a single egg.
Name one kind of monotreme and tell where it lives?
Platypus and the two species of echidna are both monotremes. The platypus and the short-beaked echidnalive in Australia, while the long-beaked echidnalives in New Guinea. They are the only monotremes in existence.
What is the definition of monotremes?
Monotremes are mammals that lay eggs rather than giving birth. Examples of monotremes are the platypus and the echidna.
The literal definition of "monotreme" is "one holed". The name monotreme 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.
Which order of mammals lays eggs?
Mammals in the order Monotremata lay eggs. There are just three species of animal in this order, and they are the platypus, short-beaked echidna (both of Australia) and the long-beaked echidna (found in New Guinea).
What Mammal lays eggs and flies?
Platypuses and echidnas are the only two egg-laying mammals. Neither of them flies.
What is the reproductive process of monotremes?
Monotremes have a reproductive process quite unlike any other mammals. They lay eggs in order to reproduce, yet they suckle the young, thus placing them in the classification of 'mammal'.
Monotremes' eggs develop in the mother's body for a period of about 28 days. After they are laid, they are then incubated for ten days.
Echidnas lay a single egg into a rudimentary pouch they develop during breeding season. Platypuses lay one to three eggs in a chamber at the end of a long burrow they dig in riverbanks.
Are elephants marsupials or are they monotremes?
Neither.
Elephants are placental mammals, which form a different group of mammals from either the marsupials (pouched mammals) or the monotremes (egg-laying mammals).
Yes. Monotremes are egg-laying mammals; this group of mammals includes just platypuses and echidnas.
Is a bat a monotremes or a placentals?
Bats are placental mammals. Unlike monotremes, they do not lay eggs.
