Habitat of the echidna. Echidna: animal or name-calling? Features of the Australian echidna

The echidna is a unique animal of its kind. It belongs to a small order of monotreme mammals. This group also includes: amazing creatures like platypuses. Australian echidna is an extremely primitive creature that, although it feeds its offspring with milk, still retains the ability to lay eggs. It is believed that animals like this were an intermediate link between reptiles and mammals.

Echidna is a unique animal of its kind.

This animal was first described by the famous English zoologist George Shaw in 1792. Like many other relict creatures, echidnas live in a closed area. Monotremes have long since become extinct on other continents, but have survived in:

1. Australia.
2. Tasmania.
3. New Guinea.
4. Bass Strait Islands.

The Australian continent is very far from others, so the animals living on it have followed their own evolutionary path. The modern echidna is perhaps the most famous surviving member of the genus. The echidna lives almost throughout the entire territory of this continent. Economic activity humans has led to a significant decrease in the number of these animals.

Echidna - ant eater (video)

Physiological characteristics

Initially, researchers considered the echidna to be a relative of the anteater, but this is not true. Studying anatomical features These animals made it possible to identify their cloaca - an opening that hides the genital tract, ureter and intestines. This feature makes the echidna similar to birds and reptiles.

This animal looks quite unusual. Its entire back is covered with hard needles formed from compressed wool. The length of the spines reaches 6 cm. On the head, neck, stomach and paws, the creature’s body is covered with coarse hair. And the Australian echidna is distinguished by its rather modest size. The length of the creature usually does not exceed 30-45 cm. Weight can vary from 2.5 to 5 kg. The ears are almost invisible. The Australian echidna has an elongated muzzle, the size of which is approximately 7.5 cm. These creatures have no teeth.

This animal looks quite unusual. Her entire back is covered with hard needles formed from compressed wool.

Despite the fact that the echidna is a warm-blooded animal, its body temperature is unstable. Animals have to resort to certain tricks to maintain it within 30-32°C.

The creature does not have sweat glands, which are present in many species of mammals, so the problem of cooling is quite acute for it. IN hot weather Australian echidna moves to night image life. As the temperature drops, it becomes sluggish. When it gets very cold, the animal goes into hibernation, which can last more than 6 months.

The Australian echidna has very long claws. Thanks to them, the animal digs well and can break the walls of termite mounds to provide itself with food. The echidna has very sticky saliva and long tongue. They help the creature get ants and termites on which the animal feeds. Outwardly, these creatures really resemble giant anteaters, but these species are not related.

Echidnas' natural habitat allows them to find required amount stern. In rare cases, this creature can dilute its diet with small vertebrates. The animal has no teeth, so it grinds larger prey by moving its tongue across the roof of the mouth. In addition, while feeding, the echidna does not swallow a large number of sand. It promotes better grinding of food in the stomach. The echidna is an extremely clumsy creature, but it is a good swimmer and can cross large bodies of water.

Relatively recently, it was found that these animals differ good eyesight. If there is any threat, the echidna burrows into the ground or curls up into a spiny ball.

Natural enemies of the animal include foxes and dingoes. These predators are able to cope even with an adult.

Echidna on a walk (video)

Gallery: animal echidna (25 photos)

Peculiarities of echidna reproduction

The reproduction process of these animals is of greatest interest. The echidna is a marsupial that reproduces in a specific way. Throughout the year, this creature leads a solitary lifestyle. Each individual, regardless of gender, protects a certain territory where there are termite mounds and other food sources. Despite the fact that echidnas are excellent diggers, they do not have permanent shelters.

The breeding season lasts from early May to September. At this time, animals are looking for a partner. Females emit a characteristic musky odor that attracts echidnas from all surrounding areas.

A small group of 7-10 individuals is formed. Usually the female leads the way, followed by potential mates. The group feeds together and stops to rest. During the movement, the animals follow strictly one after another.

Once the female is completely ready to breed, she lies down on her side and waits. Her potential mates continue to walk around her, pushing the earth onto her side. Through short period a trench can be dug around the female, the size of which reaches about 25-30 cm. After such a peculiar struggle, only the strongest male remains. He mates with a partner lying on her side.

Pregnancy in these animals lasts about 21-28 days. At this time, the female digs a brood hole, which should be dry and warm. Here she produces only 1 egg, which has a leathery shell. In diameter it does not exceed 13-17 mm. Its weight is about 1.5 g.

The animal presses this ball to its stomach, trying not to move too much during this period. After about 7-10 days, the egg hatches into a baby. A special horny bump present on the nose helps him in this. The baby is poorly developed and may look too fragile. The eyes are still covered with skin. Only the front legs are well developed, while the hind legs are almost undeveloped.

The baby echidna, deftly clinging to the tough fur, moves into the pouch. He is safe there. Echidnas do not have mammary glands or nipples to help feed their young. These creatures have special primitive glands through which they milk is released.

In a separate area there can be up to 150 such glands, each of which has a modified hair. By squeezing these hairs with its mouth, the cub feeds.

The baby consumes this milk while remaining in the pouch. There it grows and forms. In just 2 months, a cub can increase its weight 100 times. At this time, its weight reaches about 400 g.

Classification

Family: Echidnovae

Squad: Monotremes

Class: Mammals

Subclass: Primordial beasts (cloacae)

Type: Chordata

Subtype: Vertebrates

Kingdom: Animals

Domain: Eukaryotes

Dimensions: The body length is on average 35-45 cm, weight - from 5 to 7 kg. Average duration life - 50 years.

Crossword puzzle question: “What is the name of a medium-sized animal that has hedgehog quills, a beak-like mouth, a pouch, lays eggs like , but feeds its young with milk like ?” - the answer is echidna.

Appearance

What does an echidna look like? This is a small, squat animal that looks like a porcupine or a hedgehog. Its back is strewn with thick needles up to 6 cm in length, dark at the base and light at the end. The rest of the body is covered with coarse hair of dark brown, brown or black color.

The small head sits on such a short neck that it is almost invisible. From the outside it seems that the head starts straight from the body.

Deep on the sides of the head are medium-sized eyes, which, in addition to the eyelids, have a nictitating membrane.

There are no external auricles. The auditory canal has the shape of a fairly wide slit, located almost on the neck itself and hidden by a fold of skin. When the echidna listens, it lifts this fold.

The muzzle ends in a small mouth, elongated in the shape of a narrow beak. Scientists call the echidna's mouth "beak-like."

She cannot open it wide; the mouth opening is very narrow - no more than 2-3 centimeters, which is enough to stick out a long sticky tongue, which the echidna uses to grab food.

The animal has short, wide and strong paws, each paw has 5 toes with strong large claws, with which it digs the ground well. In addition, on each hind paw there is one special claw 5 cm long, with which it combs the fur and cleans the needles.

Interesting! On the heels of the hind legs of male echidnas there are horny spurs, hollow inside, connected to a special gland, the secretion of which is poisonous. But scientists who have been observing animals for many years have never noticed that these spurs were used in any way, so there is an opinion that these processes are an atavism.

The echidna has a very short tail, often invisible. He's covered in needles.

The animal belongs to the order of monotremes, which means that all its feces, urine, and sexual secretions exit through a single common opening - the cloaca.

Actually, this is a very cute and harmless creature, but for some reason ancient Greek mythology describes it completely differently.

Among the Ancient Greeks, the echidna was a gigantic creature with a beautiful woman's face and the body of a snake. The half-woman, half-snake had a ferocious character and kidnapped travelers.

Ancient Greek mythology says that she was killed by Hercules (there are versions that Hippo, King Oedipus or the many-eyed giant Argus killed the echidna).

How the ancients imagined the echidna

The mythology of the Gauls endowed the echidna with a beautiful female face with the body of a crocodile. The girl's forehead is burning gem, which she takes out every time she goes swimming.

Anyone who manages to steal this gem will become incredibly rich: all underground treasures will be revealed to him.

Habitat

The echidna's natural habitat is Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. Therefore, this animal is also called the Australian echidna.

The animal prefers damp, shady places with dense vegetation, forests, hilly or mountainous terrain, and sometimes climbs up to 2500 meters above sea level. Avoids the plains.

This animal does not have permanent place a habitat. It stops to rest or spend the night in the first suitable place - under the roots of trees, in rock crevices, in small caves, in the burrows of other animals, most often rabbits or.

Or maybe just lie down in the thick grass. Having rested, he immediately leaves and forgets about his temporary abode.

One of the first sketches of an echidna

Interesting! The first researcher who described the echidna in more or less detail was George Shaw in 1792. After him, many researchers became interested in the mammal. But it is very difficult to study this animal, since it is “snide” - very secretive and cautious, and in every possible way avoids interference in its life. The echidna somehow senses that she is being watched and immediately hides in a secluded place. For a long time I couldn't take a photo of her, so I scientific literature Sketches of the animal were presented.

Characteristic

We figured out what an echidna looks like, where it lives, and now we find out its main characteristics and habits.

The echidna is a solitary animal. She always prowls alone, only during the mating season the males unite in groups while courting the female.

The animal moves awkwardly, when walking, it waddles from side to side, bends its head and the front part of its body to the ground. But in case of danger he runs away very quickly

To protect yourself from your own natural enemies– dingo dogs, foxes, Tasmanian devil, a marsupial wolf, sometimes a monitor lizard - she curls up into a ball.

But an experienced predator still gets to her tender tummy, which remains partially unprotected.

Advice! If by chance you come across an echidna on your way, do not try to pick it up. Curling up into a ball, it inflicts deep and painful wounds with its long and strong needles.

The spines on the echidna's back are very sharp and thick, providing excellent protection against any predator.

If you can’t escape, then the animal, with amazing dexterity and speed, buries itself into the ground so that only needles stick out from above.

It is very difficult to get it out of such a hiding place. In addition, the Australian echidna is a good swimmer.

Another way of defense is the foul-smelling liquid that it releases from under its tail if the enemy comes too close.

She has poor vision, but sensitive hearing and keen sense of smell.

It often hunts at night, but scientists have found that the echidna is not a strictly nocturnal animal; it can hunt during the day in favorable weather, when it is not very hot.

The fact is that she has no sweat glands, and her body temperature is only 30-32°C, so high temperatures It does not tolerate air well, as well as low air.

Therefore, when it gets colder, this animal becomes lethargic, vital processes in the body are inhibited.

Interesting! With a significant decrease in temperature, the animal may even go into hibernation, which lasts from 1 to 4 months. During this period, nutrition provides a supply subcutaneous fat, which the echidna has amassed over the course of the season.

Key Features

Echidna – amazing animal, she combined the characteristics of other animals:

• I took the quills from a porcupine or a hedgehog,
• has a pouch like a possum or kangaroo,
• lays eggs for procreation, like a bird,
• feeds its young with milk,
• eats exactly like an anteater
• can hibernate like a bear,
• digs holes no worse than a mole,
• goes without water for a long time, like a camel,
• If the animal gets angry, it grunts cutely, like a pig.

Interesting! The echidna is home to the world's largest flea, Bradiopsylla echidnae, 4 mm long.

Nutrition

The main food of the echidna is ants and termites. Having discovered an anthill, she immediately begins to deftly tear it apart, going deeper until she gets to the ants. He immediately begins to lick them off with his long sticky tongue.

A sticky secretion, with which her tongue is generously lubricated, is secreted from large paired salivary glands.

The echidna has no teeth in its mouth, but the upper palate is strewn with hard keratin plates, against which it crushes insects, pressing them tightly with its tongue.

The same fate awaits termites if an Australian echidna suddenly finds a termite mound. Moreover, she easily breaks the hard outer walls of the termite mound with her paws.

If she smells ants or termites under the bark of a tree, she can easily tear off a piece of bark with her front paws and lick off the insects she finds.

Interesting! Echidnas make very fast movements with their tongue; they can stick it out more than 100 times in a minute!

In search of a treat, the Australian echidna can move stones, even large ones, and sometimes simply comb the forest floor with its sensitive nose-beak.

Along with food, like birds, it swallows a large amount of earth and small pebbles. They help digest food by grinding it in the stomach.

In addition to ants and termites, the animal's diet includes bugs, worms, and sometimes mollusks.

Echidnas drink almost no water at all. They get the liquid from the insects they eat.

Interesting! Scientists suggest that there are special cells on the echidna’s nose, with the help of which it picks up electromagnetic impulses emitted by all living creatures. Only sharks and whales have such receptors; they have not yet been found in any land mammal.

Reproduction

Scientists have long been trying to figure out how the Australian echidna reproduces. But it was only in 2003 that reliable research results in this area were published.

After 12 years of observations, it was found that the mating season of echidnas begins in May and ends in September (this is the period of the Australian winter).

Only at this time do animals agree to live in a small group, which consists of one female and several males (usually 4-6 individuals).

The animals feed and rest together, and when moving from place to place they follow each other in single file, and the female is always at the head of this kind of “mating caravan”.

Baby echidna

Males courtship for a long time - a whole month, but very modestly - they simply trail behind the female and sniff her, poking their noses into the tail of the only female in the group.

The female emits a strong musky odor during this period.

After 4 weeks of courtship, the female lies down on the ground, indicating that she is ready to mate.

The males perk up and begin to cheerfully circle around it, throwing away clods of earth and trampling a trench up to 30 cm deep.

Then the “boys” begin to push, rather roughly pushing each other out of the trench, until there is only one winner left, who immediately begins to mate with the female. Mating occurs on the side and lasts for an hour.

Interesting! The male echidna has an amazing penis - it has 4 heads at once.

Echidna pregnancy lasts 3-4 weeks (the hotter it is, the shorter the pregnancy).

Afterwards, she lays a leathery egg in a special brood pouch - a fold of skin that appears only during motherhood.

Interesting! Biologists still cannot understand how the echidna manages to roll an egg into its pouch. Although it is tiny - with an average diameter of 15 mm and a weight of only 1.5 grams, it still cannot do this with its small mouth, and the echidna’s legs are too short and clumsy. There is a hypothesis that when laying an egg, the animal curls up into a ball, the egg rolls out of the cloaca directly onto the stomach, where it is glued to the fold with a sticky secretion.

Gestation lasts 10 days, after which a miniature cub hatches from the egg - puggle (zoological name) - up to 15 mm long and weighing half a gram.

He is completely helpless, his eyes are hidden by leathery eyelids, hind legs not yet developed.

Interesting! To be born, the baby breaks the shell of the egg with a horny growth on the nose.

Within a few hours, the baby, with the help of its front paws, moves to the front of the mother's pouch.

Here is the so-called “milky field” - an area of ​​​​the skin where up to 100 pores of the mammary glands open, from which very nutritious milk is secreted. The baby licks it off with its tongue.

Interesting! Echidna's milk Pink colour because of high content it contains iron.

The puggle remains in the mother's pouch for up to 2 months. During this time, he gains up to 400 grams of weight, that is, he increases his original weight by about 800 times!

This growth rate is a record among mammals. Just at 2 months of age, the puggle's spines begin to grow, and the mother kicks it out of the pouch.

She digs out a special shelter for him under tree roots or stones and leaves the baby in this secluded place.

Every 4-5 days the echidna visits its cub to feed it.

More often it is not necessary, firstly, so as not to attract the attention of predators, and secondly, the nutritional value of echidna milk is very high. This continues for 6-7 months until the baby becomes completely independent.

The period of a puggle's life in a hole is critical for it. He is very vulnerable at this time. If a predator finds it, then the baby echidna will have no chance to escape.

The only defense is the pungent, unpleasant odor that comes from the puggle, as well as the fact that it behaves very, very quietly, making practically no sounds.

Some facts about echidna reproduction:

• Sexual maturity in females occurs at 3-4 years,
• it reproduces very rarely - on average, it lays an egg once every 4-5 years,
• The echidna always lays only 1 egg,
• the mother's pouch is a temporary phenomenon. She disappears after the mother throws out the cub,
• During the incubation of the egg and the puggle's stay in the pouch, the temperature there is higher than the rest of the animal's body.

Interesting! In the wild, the Australian echidna lives 15-17 years, and in captivity the animal lives up to 45 years!

Having an Australian echidna at home is a very bad idea. This animal will move furniture in search of ants and termites, it does not shine with intelligence, cannot be trained at all, does not become attached to humans, but is quite curious and can stick its nose and beak where its owners least expect it

The photo shows echidnas crossing the highway in single file. They are moving towards a small place. IN Lately More and more often, these animals began to appear near human homes. They climb into gardens and flower beds. Australian housewives are forced to call specialists who move the echidnas back into the forest. Scientists are puzzled by this behavior of these amazing animals

Echidnas feel great at the zoo. They live in captivity all over the world and, as it turns out, really love milk. But they cannot reproduce in unnatural conditions.

Only 5 zoos in the world managed to obtain offspring from echidnas. But puggles, unfortunately, died at a young age.

A miracle happened in 2012 at the Perth Zoo in Western Australia. Here scientists during the breeding program Australian echidnas in captivity, it was possible to obtain healthy offspring from two females at once.

Moreover, the puggles grew up and became parents themselves in August 2015. Thus, the world's first baby echidna was born in this zoo, whose father and mother were also born in captivity.

Echidna: an amazing animal from Australia

The echidna is a small, squat animal that looks like a porcupine or a hedgehog. Its back is strewn with thick needles up to 6 cm in length, dark at the base and light at the end. The remaining parts of the body are covered with coarse hair of dark brown, brown or black color.

Echidna – unique creation nature. It's really true! The origin of these unique animals has been studied very superficially and many questions about their life are controversial and are still considered open.

• In appearance, the echidna is similar to a hedgehog or, it also has almost the entire body covered with needles;
• the echidna lays eggs to continue its kind, which is more typical for birds;
• she carries her offspring in a special bag, just as kangaroos do;
• but she eats in the same way as.
• Moreover, echidna cubs feed on milk and belong to the class of mammals.

Therefore, they often talk about the echidna as a “bird beast”. Look at photo of echidna, and much will become clear at just one glance. What kind of special creation is this, who is this viper?

Echidna and platypus belong to one order, which are known as monotremes (single-tremes). In nature, there are 2 varieties of echidna:

• spiny (Tasmanian, Australian)
• woolly (New Guinea)

The surface of the body is covered with needles, the length of which is about 6 centimeters. The color of the needles varies from white to dark brown, so the color of the animal is uneven.

In addition to needles, the echidna has brown wool, she is quite rough and tough. The coat is especially thick and quite long in the parotid area. In terms of size, the echidna is a small animal, about 40 centimeters.

Pictured is a woolly echidna

The head is small in size and almost immediately merges with the body. The muzzle is long and thin, and it ends in a small mouth - a tube, which is often called a beak. The echidna has a long and sticky tongue, but it has no teeth at all. In general, the beak helps the animal navigate in space, since vision is very poor.

The echidna moves on four legs; they are small in size, but very strong and muscular. She has five toes on each paw, which end in strong claws.

This unique miracle of nature, like , can curl up and turn into a prickly ball. If there is some source of danger or threat to life nearby, then the echidna buries itself in the loose soil with half of its body and puts out its needles as protection so that the enemy cannot get close to it.

Often you have to escape from danger by running away, here strong paws come to the rescue, which provide fast movement to a safe shelter. In addition to being a good runner, the echidna can also swim well.

Character and lifestyle of the echidna

Lives the echidna in Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania. The life of the echidna was first described by Georg Shaw in 1792, and it was from that time that observation of this animal began. However, echidnas are quite secretive and do not like interference in their lives, which greatly complicates study and research.

Not in vain word“snide” means insidious. Yes and animal echidna insidiously and carefully, does not allow intrusion into his life. Australian echidnas prefer to be nocturnal.

They live mainly in forests or areas with dense vegetation, where the animal feels protected under the cover of foliage and plants. The echidna can hide in thickets, tree roots, crevices in rocks, small caves, or in holes that are dug and.

The animal spends the hottest hours of the day in such shelters; with the onset of evening, when the coolness is already well felt, the echidnas begin to behave active life.

However, with the onset of cold weather, the animal’s life seems to slow down and for some time they can go into hibernation, although in general the echidna does not belong to the class of animals sleeping in winter. This behavior of the echidna is associated with the absence of sweat glands, so it does not adapt well to different temperatures.

With a significant change in temperature, the animal becomes lethargic and inactive, sometimes completely inhibiting the process of vital activity. The reserve of subcutaneous fat provides the necessary nutrition to the body for long time, sometimes this can last about 4 months.

The photo shows an echidna in a defensive pose.

Reproduction and lifespan

The breeding period, the so-called mating season, occurs during the Australian winter, which lasts from May to September. At other times, echidnas live alone, but with the onset of winter they gather in small groups, which usually consist of one female and several males (usually there are up to 6 males in one group).

The so-called dating period lasts for about a month, when the animals feed and live together in the same territory. After which the males move on to the stage of courtship of the female. This is usually manifested by the animals sniffing each other and poking their noses at the tail of the only female representative of their group.

When the female is ready to mate, the males surround her and begin a kind of wedding ritual, which consists of circling and digging a trench about 25 centimeters around the female.

The photo shows an echidna with a tiny egg.

When everything is ready, the battles begin for the title of the most worthy, the males push each other out of the trench. The only one who will defeat everyone and mate with the female.

About 3-4 weeks after mating has occurred, the female is ready to lay an egg. Moreover, the echidna always lays only one egg. The echidna's pouch appears only at this time, and then disappears again.

The egg is the size of a pea and is placed in the mother's pouch. How exactly this process occurs is still debated by scientists. After about 8-12 days, the baby is born, but for the next 50 days from the moment of birth, it will still be in the pouch.

Pictured is a baby echidna

The mother echidna then finds a safe place where she leaves her baby and visits it about once a week to feed it. Thus another 5 months pass. Then the time comes when echidna children ready for independent adult life and no longer needs maternal care and care.

The echidna is capable of reproducing no more often than once every two years, or even less often, but its natural life expectancy is approximately 13-17 years. This is considered a fairly high figure. However, there have been cases when echidnas in the zoo lived up to 45 years.

Echidna food

The echidna's diet includes termites, small worms, and sometimes baby fish. To get food, the echidna digs up an anthill or termite mound, rips off the bark of trees where insects hide, moves small stones under which worms can usually be found, or simply combs through the forest floor with its nose from leaves, moss and small branches.

As soon as prey is found, a long tongue is used, to which the insect or. To crush prey, the echidna lacks teeth, but it digestive system it is designed in such a way that it has special keratin teeth that rub against the palate.

This is how the process of “chewing” food occurs. In addition, grains of sand, small pebbles and earth enter the echidna’s body, which also help grind food in the animal’s stomach.

If you look at an echidna, then most likely this animal will remind you of a hedgehog that for some reason has mutated. But these two species of animals are in no way closely related. The echidna's closest relative is actually the platypus. Appearance is only one of the common links between these two species of animals.

Zoological researchers working at the Research Center wildlife(town of Pelican Lagoon on Kangaroo Island, South Australia) shared fascinating information about these animals. These are the secrets.

Echidnas and their babies

The echidna belongs to the category of mammals, but this animal does not belong to the category of viviparous animals. Interestingly, when the animal reproduces, it lays eggs in a burrow. At the same time, the echidna has thick fur, and it feeds its babies with milk. The echidna and platypus, which form a group called monotremes, are the only mammals, which reproduce in such an unusual way.

The animal lays eggs in a special bag. This is not a permanent pouch of skin, like a kangaroo's, but a pseudopocket that develops before eggs are laid.

The baby hatches from the egg after 10 days. The baby, called a puggle, lives there for about 50 days until it begins to grow spines. After this, the mother begins to dig a hole for him, where he will grow stronger.

Although the animal feeds its offspring with milk, the female does not have nipples. Puggle stimulates milk production from an area that contains many special pores.

Do echidnas and anteaters have anything in common?

No, they have nothing in common. Echidnas are sometimes mistakenly classified as spiny anteaters. These animals are not related in any way to anteaters, but they collect food in a similar way.

The animals use their long sticky tongue to pull insects out of their nests. Latin name genus for the short-tailed echidna, Tachyglossus, means " fast language" Echidnas do not have teeth, but they are able to crush food through their mouths, unlike anteaters, which swallow it whole, not crushed. The main food for the animal are worms, mollusks, ants, and beetles. In order to get food for itself, an animal can even destroy an anthill. The echidna has enough strength to move big Stone and even knock it over in order to get food.

Species of echidnas

There are two types of echidnas: short-beaked and long-beaked. Long-beaked echidnas are found only in New Guinea, while short-beaked echidnas live in the same area and in Australia. An adult short-beaked echidna typically weighs about 8 pounds.

Curious characteristics

What interesting facts exist about these animals?

• Echidnas do not look like very active animals. Their range of movement in the habitat can be up to 200 acres.
• The echidna is depicted on the Australian five cent coin.
• The animal's egg is about the same size as an Australian 5 cent coin or a US coin.
• Echidnas and platypuses have more low temperature body than any other mammal, from 86 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
• They belong to the order of monotremes. They have a cloaca, like birds and reptiles. However, this hole has a multi-purpose purpose: for feces, urine, oviposition and fertilization.
• The male reproductive organ has four heads. Mating of individuals can last from 30 minutes to two hours.
• The echidna does not like the company of its relatives. More often the animal is in splendid isolation. The animal is jealous of its personal territory and will most likely be very angry if anyone dares to encroach on its hunting area.
• Despite the fact that the echidna’s body is motionless and thick, this animal proves itself to be an excellent swimmer. He can even cross a large body of water.
• Echidna has unusually acute vision. She quickly notices danger and tries to hide in bushes or rocky areas. If the enemy finds an animal there, then the echidna begins to burrow into the ground at very high speed. Only its needles remain on the surface. Sometimes an animal, like a hedgehog, curls up into a ball. The animal performs a similar action only on level ground, into which it cannot burrow.
• The echidna's enemies include monitor lizards, foxes, and wild dogs. These animals are capable of driving the animal into open space and attacking it. And even if the echidna curls up into a ball, this is unlikely to save it from death, since the animal pursuing it can attack from the abdomen.

The echidna is a very unusual animal. It is small-feeding, eats ants, is covered with spines, and has a tongue like a woodpecker. The echidna also lays eggs.

Who is this echidna?

The echidna is not talked about in the news or written about in fairy tales. It is extremely rare to hear about this animal. This is partly explained by the fact that there are not so many echidnas, or rather their habitats, on Earth. Today they live only in Australia, New Guinea and some islands in Brass Strait.

Externally, the echidna is very similar to a hedgehog or. On its back there are several dozen sharp needles, which the animal can raise in case of danger. The echidna's muzzle and belly are covered with short fur. " Business card"is a long nose, which makes them relatives of another rare animal - the platypus. Echidnovae are a whole family. It includes three genera, but representatives of one of them no longer exist.

The usual body length of an echidna is 30 centimeters. Short legs are equipped with powerful claws. With their help, the animal can dig well and quickly dig holes even in hard soil. When there is no reliable shelter nearby, and danger is nearby, the echidna is able to burrow into the ground, leaving only a hemisphere with sharp spines on the surface. If necessary, echidnas can swim well and overcome long water obstacles.

Echidnas lay eggs. There is only one egg in a “clutch” and is placed in a special bag. The cub is born after 10 days and lives in the same pouch for the first month and a half. The small echidna is fed with milk, but not from the nipples, but from special pores in certain places bodies called milk fields. After a month and a half, the mother places the cub in a prepared hole and feeds milk once every five days until the age of seven months.

Echidna lifestyle

The animal leads a solitary lifestyle, forming pairs only during the mating season. The echidna doesn't have a nest or anything like that. Any suitable place becomes a refuge and a place of rest. Leading a nomadic lifestyle, the echidna learned to see the slightest danger in advance and instantly respond to it.

The arsenal of detection means includes a keen sense of smell, excellent hearing and special receptor cells that detect changes electromagnetic field around the animal. Thanks to this, the echidna records the movements of even such tiny living organisms as ants. This ability helps not only to notice danger in time, but also to find food.

The main “dish” in the echidna’s diet is ants and termites. Long thin nose The animal is maximally adapted for their extraction from narrow crevices, manholes and burrows. But main role Tongue plays a role in getting insects. The echidna’s mouth is very thin, sticky and can stretch out of its mouth to a length of up to 18 centimeters. Ants adhere to the mucous membrane and are transported into the mouth. Woodpeckers extract insects from under the bark of trees in the same way.

One more interesting fact, is the absence of teeth in the echidna. In general, there is no need to chew ants, but the animal eats more than just them. The diet also includes worms, some insects and even shellfish! To crush them, the echidna's mouth has small keratin growths that rub against the roof of the mouth. Thanks to them, food is ground and enters the stomach.

In search of food, the echidna turns over stones, stirs up fallen leaves and can even remove bark from fallen trees. With a good food supply, it accumulates a fat layer, which helps to survive a possible lack of food in the future. When they come hard times“The echidna can live without food for up to a month.