Short-Beaked Echidna: Australia’s Spiny Egg-Layer

Scientific Profile

🦔 Species: Tachyglossus aculeatus
🥚 Order: Monotremata (egg-laying mammals)
📍 Range: Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea
📏 Size: 30-45 cm (12-18 in) / 2-7 kg
🎨 Color: Golden-brown spines with cream underfur

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Evolutionary Marvels

1. Monotreme Uniqueness

• Egg-Laying: Leathery eggs incubated in pouch (10 days)

• Milk Patches: Nurses young through abdominal pores (no nipples)

• Electroreception: Detects prey via snout sensors

2. Specialized Adaptations

🐜 Diet:

• 18cm (7in) sticky tongue

• Eats 20,000 ants/termites daily
  🛡️ Defense:

• Curls into spiky ball (60+ sharp spines)

• Digs vertically to escape predators

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Life Cycle & Behavior

🐣 Breeding:

• Mating trains (up to 10 males follow 1 female)

• “Puggle” hatchlings stay in pouch for 8 weeks
  🌡️ Thermoregulation:

• Body temp drops to 4°C (39°F) in cold weather

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Conservation Status

📊 Population: Stable (Least Concern)
⚠️ Threats:

• Vehicle strikes

• Invasive species (foxes prey on young)

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Echidna vs. Other Monotremes

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Did You Know?
Echidnas can swim using their snout as a snorkel!

Perfect For: Biology classes, monotreme research, or Australian wildlife guides.

(Sources: CSIRO Wildlife Research, IUCN Red List)