Short-nosed echidna, Common echidna, Spiny anteater, Short-beaked echidna
The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus ) is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus Tachyglossus. It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialized tongue, which it uses to catch its insect prey at a great speed. Like the other extant monotremes, the short-beaked echidna lays eggs; the monotremes are the only living group of mammals to do so.
The short-beaked echidna has extremely strong front limbs and claws, which allow it to burrow quickly with great power. As it needs to be able to survive underground, it has a significant tolerance to high levels of carbon dioxide and low levels of oxygen. It has no weapons or fighting ability but repels predators by curling into a ball and deterring them with its spines. It lacks the ability to sweat and cannot deal with heat well, so it tends to avoid daytime activity in hot weather. It can swim if needed. The snout has mechanoreceptors and electroreceptors that help the echidna to detect its surroundings.
During the Australian winter, it goes into deep torpor and hibernation, reducing its metabolism to save energy. As the temperature increases, it emerges to mate. Female echidnas lay one egg a year and the mating period is the only time the otherwise solitary animals meet one another; the male has no further contact with the female or his offspring after mating. A newborn echidna is the size of a grape but grows rapidly on its mother's milk, which is very rich in nutrients. Baby echidnas eventually grow too large and spiky to stay in the pouch and, around seven weeks after hatching, are expelled from the pouch into the mother's burrow. At around six months of age, they leave the burrow and have no more contact with their mothers.
The species is found throughout Australia, where it is the most widespread native mammal, and in coastal and highland regions of eastern New Guinea, where it is known as the mungwe in the Daribi and Chimbu languages. It is not threatened with extinction, but human activities, such as hunting, habitat destruction, and the introduction of foreign predatory species and parasites, have reduced its distribution in Australia.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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MyrmecophagousMyrmecophagy is a feeding behavior defined by the consumption of termites or ants, particularly as pertaining to those animal species whose diets a...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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FossorialA fossorial animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, ...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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BurrowingA burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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TorporTorpor is a state of decreased physiological activity in an animal, usually marked by a reduced body temperature and metabolic rate. Torpor enables...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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HibernatingHibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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Weird AnimalsShort-beaked echidnas are easy to recognize with their long protective spines on their back. Although not so conspicuous, there is fur between the spines, ranging from light-brown to black in color and noticeably denser in members of the species that live in colder habitats, enough to obscure the spines of the Tasmanian subspecies. These animals have long, tubular, toothless, and furless snouts. They have a very small mouth that opens just enough for a sticky worm-like tongue to flick out of.
Short-beaked echidnas are found in Australia, including Tasmania, and Papua New Guinea. They occupy a range of habitats, including meadows, heathlands, woodlands, coastal forests and dry inland areas, and the Australian desert. They can also be found in agricultural areas and urban outskirts,
Short-beaked echidnas are solitary except during mating time. In the warmer months, they tend to avoid the heat and be nocturnal. At higher elevations, in areas that are more temperate, and in winter, these animals are more diurnal and will forage around dusk or in the daytime. To some extent, they are able to control their temperature, but it is generally lower than other mammals. During cold weather, they hibernate for ten days. All their body processes slow down during this time. In addition to brief and light bouts of torpor throughout the year, echidnas enter periods during the Australian winter when it hibernates, both in cold regions and in regions with more temperate climates. Short-beaked echidnas walk with a waddle and they can also climb and run. They are very powerful and are able to even tear apart rotten logs with their claws, in search of termites, or they dig into ant nests. Echidnas are believed to locate food by smell, using sensors in the tips of their snouts, by shuffling around seemingly arbitrarily and using their snout in a probing manner.
Short-beaked echidnas are carnivores (insectivores). Thie diet includes ants, termites, worms, and grubs.
Short-beaked echidnas are polygynous and in the breeding season, a ‘train’ of a number of males may follow one female in the hope to mate with her. June through August is when mating usually occurs. Gestation is for about 23 days, then the female will lay one single soft-shelled egg for incubation in her pouch. After about 10 days the egg hatches and the baby echidna, a “puggle”, will be about 1.5 cm (0.6 inches) long. The puggle stays in its mother’s pouch until its spines develop, at about 3 months old. When puggles are old enough, their mother will go out to feed and leave them in a nursery burrow. Puggles continue to suckle from their mothers until weaning at around 7 months old. They become independent when they are 1 year old.
This species is not faced with any major threats over most of its range. Due to European settlement, however, and the accompanying threats of land clearance, predation and competition by introduced species, and road mortality, Short-beaked echidnas are disappearing from parts of their range.
The global population size of Short-beaked echidna has not been quantified. According to the IUCN Red List, this species is widespread and common throughout most of its range with a stable population trend. It is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
