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The Australian echidna is known to be oviparous. Echidna is an oviparous mammal

2 families: platypus and echidnaidae
Range: Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea
Food: insects, small aquatic animals
Body length: from 30 to 80 cm

Subclass oviparous mammals represented by only one order - monotremes. This order unites only two families: platypuses and echidnas. Monotremes- the most primitive living mammals. They the only mammals which, like birds or reptiles, reproduce by laying eggs. Oviparous animals feed their young with milk and are therefore classified as mammals. Female echidnas and platypuses do not have nipples, and the young lick milk secreted by tubular mammary glands directly from the fur on the mother's belly.

Amazing animals

Echidnas and platypuses- the most unusual representatives of the class of mammals. They are called monotremes because both the intestines and the bladder of these animals open into one special cavity - the cloaca. Two oviducts in monotreme females also exit there. Most mammals do not have a cloaca; this cavity is characteristic of reptiles. The stomach of oviparous animals is also amazing - like a bird's crop, it does not digest food, but only stores it. Digestion occurs in the intestines. These strange mammals even body temperature is lower than that of others: without rising above 36°C, it can drop to 25°C depending on environment like reptiles. Echidnas and platypuses are voiceless - they do not have vocal cords, and toothless - only young platypuses have teeth that quickly decay.

Echidnas live up to 30 years, platypuses - up to 10. They live in forests, steppes overgrown with bushes, and even in mountains at an altitude of up to 2500 m.

Origin and discovery of oviparous

Short fact
Platypuses and echidnas are venom-bearing mammals. They have a bone spur on their hind legs, along which poisonous liquid flows. This poison causes rapid death in most animals, and in humans - severe pain and swelling. Among mammals, besides the platypus and echidna, only representatives of the order of insectivores are poisonous - the slittooth and two species of shrews.

Like all mammals, oviparous animals trace their origins to reptile-like ancestors. However, they separated from other mammals quite early, choosing their own path of development and forming a separate branch in the evolution of animals. Thus, oviparous animals were not the ancestors of other mammals - they developed in parallel with them and independently of them. Platypuses are more ancient animals than echidnas, which descended from them, modified and adapted to a terrestrial lifestyle.

Europeans learned about the existence of oviparous animals almost 100 years after the discovery of Australia, in late XVII V. When the skin of a platypus was brought to the English zoologist George Shaw, he decided that he was simply being played, the sight of this bizarre creature of nature was so unusual for Europeans. And the fact that the echidna and platypus reproduce by laying eggs has become one of the greatest zoological sensations.

Despite the fact that the echidna and platypus have been known to science for quite some time, these amazing animals still present zoologists with new discoveries.

Wonder Beast platypus as if assembled from parts of different animals: its nose is like a duck’s beak, its flat tail looks like it was taken from a beaver with a shovel, its webbed feet look like flippers, but are equipped with powerful claws for digging (when digging, the membrane bends, and when walking, it folds, without disturbing free movement). But despite all the seeming absurdity, this animal is perfectly adapted to the lifestyle that it leads, and has hardly changed over millions of years.

The platypus hunts small crustaceans, mollusks and other small aquatic life at night. Its tail-fin and webbed paws help it dive and swim well. The eyes, ears and nostrils of the platypus close tightly in the water, and it finds its prey in the dark underwater with the help of its sensitive “beak”. This leathery “beak” contains electroreceptors that can detect weak electrical impulses emitted by aquatic invertebrates as they move. Reacting to these signals, the platypus quickly finds prey, fills its cheek pouches, and then leisurely eats what it has caught on the shore.

The platypus sleeps all day near a pond in a hole dug with powerful claws. The platypus has about a dozen of these holes, and each has several exits and entrances - not an extra precaution. To breed offspring, the female platypus prepares a special hole lined with soft leaves and grass - it is warm and humid there.

Pregnancy lasts a month, and the female lays one to three leathery eggs. The mother platypus incubates the eggs for 10 days, warming them with her body. Newborn tiny platypuses, 2.5 cm long, live on their mother’s belly for another 4 months, feeding on milk. The female spends most of her time lying on her back and only occasionally leaves the hole to feed. When leaving, the platypus seals the cubs in the nest so that no one will disturb them until she returns. At 5 months of age, mature platypuses become independent and leave the mother's hole.

Platypuses were mercilessly exterminated for their valuable fur, but now, fortunately, they are taken under the strictest protection, and their numbers have increased again.

A relative of the platypus, it doesn’t look like it at all. She, like the platypus, is an excellent swimmer, but she does it only for pleasure: she does not know how to dive and get food under water.

Another important difference: the echidna has brood pouch- a pocket on the belly where she places the egg. Although the female raises her cubs in a comfortable hole, she can safely leave it - the egg or newborn cub in her pocket is reliably protected from the vicissitudes of fate. At the age of 50 days, the little echidna already leaves the pouch, but for about 5 more months it lives in a hole under the auspices of a caring mother.

The echidna lives on the ground and feeds on insects, mainly ants and termites. Raking termite mounds with strong paws with hard claws, she extracts insects with a long and sticky tongue. The echidna's body is protected by spines, and in case of danger it curls up into a ball, like an ordinary hedgehog, exposing its prickly back to the enemy.

wedding ceremony

From May to September, the echidna's mating season begins. At this time, the female echidna is using special attention males. They line up and follow her in single file. The procession is led by the female, and the grooms follow her in order of seniority - the youngest and most inexperienced close the chain. So, in company, echidnas spend a whole month, looking for food together, traveling and relaxing.

But the rivals cannot coexist peacefully for long. Demonstrating their strength and passion, they begin to dance around the chosen one, raking the earth with their claws. The female finds herself in the center of a circle formed by a deep furrow, and the males begin to fight, pushing each other out of the ring-shaped hole. The winner of the tournament receives the favor of the female.

Australian echidna in appearance it resembles a large light brown hedgehog. She walks slowly, but at the sight of a threat she can bury herself in the ground in an instant.

HABITAT

The Australian echidna is found in Australia, on the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea, usually settling in places with soft soil. Most often, damp lowlands overgrown with forest serve as its shelter, but the echidna can often be found in dry rocky areas, where it is easy to find among the rocks safe haven. IN extreme heat the echidna sits out in the shade because it does not tolerate high temperature; however, she also hides in shelter from the rain.

LIFESTYLE

The Australian echidna leads a solitary lifestyle, occupying an area of about 50 hectares. She does not have a permanent home, and she walks freely around her site, only if necessary, using the first shelter she comes across. This could be a hollow in an old tree, a secluded corner in a thicket of bushes, or a crevice in the rocks. Having found a suitable place, the echidna spends the night there, if it is cold outside, and the hottest hours of the day. At the most comfortable time of day - morning and evening - she goes in search of loot. The main dish on the menu of this mammal is ants, termites and the larvae of various insects, which the echidna finds with the help of a keen sense of smell. Having dug out an anthill or termite mound with its strong paws, the animal sticks its narrow muzzle inside, and then a long and narrow tongue, covered with a sticky mucous secretion, to which the insects stick tightly. Having collected a portion of food, the echidna retracts its tongue and grinds the prey with horny denticles located on the palate and back of the tongue. The echidna searches for larvae by rummaging in piles of fallen leaves or moving fairly heavy stones. Sensing danger, it defends itself in two ways: on hard ground it curls up into a prickly ball, like a hedgehog, and on loose soil it instantly buries itself in the ground. After a minute, only sharp needles are visible on the surface, and only dingo dogs can dig the echidna out of such a trench. In winter, echidnas living in the mountains hibernate for several weeks, and then their body temperature drops to 4 °C.

REPRODUCTION

The mating season for echidnas is confined to the Australian winter, but the animals look for a mate ahead of time in July-August. A female ready for mating leaves behind an odorous trail on the ground, informing the male that a favorable partner is nearby. Having discovered this eloquent smell, the male rushes along the trail, and sometimes several suitors follow one female at once. The one who finds the “bride” first stays with her for several days, during which mating occurs. The female develops a primitive pouch on her belly, intended for the future egg. A few days later the partners separate different sides, and two weeks after mating the female lays one egg. To ensure that it gets directly into the pouch, the female rolls up into a ball at the moment of laying. After 7-10 days, the baby emerges from the egg, breaking the shell with a horny bump on the nose. The newborn reaches 11 mm in length and sits in the mother’s pouch for 8-9 weeks. The echidna has no nipples, and milk flows from the mammary glands directly onto the skin of the pouch, from where the baby licks it.

At about 9 weeks of age, the baby's skin becomes covered with spines; from that time on, the mother does not allow him to sit in the bag and, when going in search of food, leaves him in the hole, although from time to time she returns to feed her child. At 6 months, milk feeding stops, but for another six months the cub remains with the mother. A one-year-old echidna reaches sexual maturity and begins an independent life. Juveniles often become prey to predators introduced to Australia: foxes, cats or dingoes, but despite this, the population of Australian echidnas is not in immediate danger.

DID YOU KNOW?

The echidna can stick out its tongue up to 18 cm. Latin name animal Tachyglossus translated means " fast language».
During the period of activity, the echidna’s body temperature is about 32 °C. Thick fur and subcutaneous fat form a layer of thermal insulation, allowing the body to maintain a temperature higher than the surrounding temperature.
The echidna's eyes are protected by a transparent "third eyelid".
Echidnas are long-livers of the animal world, capable of living in captivity for up to 50 years, although today wildlife It was not possible to find an animal older than 16 years. Echidnas tolerate life well in captivity, but reproduce very rarely.
To get to the tasty larvae, the echidna rests its paws on the ground and with its back moves stones, sometimes twice as heavy as itself.
The indigenous people of Australia hunt echidnas, considering their meat a delicious delicacy.

RELATED SPECIES

The echidna family includes five species, including the prochidna and the Tasmanian echidna. All of them live in Australia and on its neighboring islands - Tasmania and New Guinea. The platypus and echidnas are part of the order Monotremes - primitive egg-laying mammals. Their character traits– short legs, small head and tiny eyes. Echidnas live on land, while the platypus is an amphibian.

Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus)- inhabits South-Eastern Australia and the island of Tasmania. Lives solitarily, digging holes in the steep banks of rivers and lakes; feeds on mollusks, obtaining them in the water. Reaches a length of 60 cm and a weight of up to 2.5 kg. After 15-27 days of pregnancy, the female lays eggs in the hole and incubates them for another 7-10 days. In captivity, the platypus lives for about 17 years. In pursuit of valuable fur, people almost completely exterminated this species, so now it is under strict protection.

Australian echidna- an oviparous mammal of the echidna family. This is the only representative of the genus of true echidnas.

The Australian echidna was first described in 1792 by the English zoologist George Shaw (he also described the platypus a few years later). Shaw mistakenly classified this strange long-nosed animal, caught on an anthill, as an anteater. Ten years later, anatomist Edward Home discovered that the echidna and platypus common feature- the cloaca, into which the intestines, ureters and genital tracts open. Based on this feature, the order of monotremes was identified.

The Australian echidna is smaller than the echidna: its usual length is 30-45 cm, weight from 2.5 to 5 kg. The Tasmanian subspecies is somewhat larger - up to 53 cm. The echidna's head is covered with coarse hair; The neck is short, almost invisible from the outside. The ears are not visible. The echidna's muzzle is elongated into a narrow “beak” 75 mm long, straight or slightly curved.

Like the platypus, the echidna’s “beak” is richly innervated. Its skin contains both mechanoreceptors and special electroreceptor cells; with their help, the echidna detects weak vibrations electric field, arising from the movement of small animals. No such electrolocation organ has been found in any mammal, other than the echidna and the platypus.

The echidna's limbs are shortened. The fingers are equipped with powerful flat claws, adapted for digging the ground and breaking the walls of termite mounds. After giving birth, females develop a brood pouch on their abdomen.

The Australian echidna is found in Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea and the islands of Bass Strait. Five of its subspecies are known.

This is a terrestrial animal, although if necessary it is capable of swimming and crossing fairly large bodies of water. The echidna is found in any landscape that provides it with enough food - from rain forests to dry bush and even deserts. It is found in mountainous areas, where there is snow part of the year, on agricultural lands, and even in the suburbs of the capital. The echidna is active mainly during the day, but hot weather forces it to switch to night look life. The echidna is poorly adapted to heat, since it does not have sweat glands, and its body temperature is very low - 30-32 °C. When it's hot or cold weather she becomes lethargic; when it gets very cold, it goes into hibernation for up to 4 months. Reserves subcutaneous fat allow her to fast for a month or more if necessary.

The echidna feeds on ants, termites, and less often other insects, small mollusks and worms.

The echidna leads a solitary lifestyle (except during the mating season). This is not a territorial animal - echidnas that meet simply ignore each other; it does not make permanent burrows and nests. The echidna rests in any convenient place - under roots, stones, in hollows fallen trees. The echidna runs poorly. Its main defense is thorns; the disturbed echidna curls up into a ball, like a hedgehog, and if it has time, it partially buries itself in the ground, exposing its back to the enemy with its needles raised.

Predators that hunt echidnas include Tasmanian devils, as well as cats, foxes and dogs introduced by people. People rarely pursue it, since the skin of the echidna is not valuable, and the meat is not particularly tasty. The sounds that an alarmed echidna makes resemble a quiet grunt.

In nature, the echidna lives up to 16 years; The recorded longevity record at the zoo is 45 years.

The Australian echidna is common in Australia and Tasmania and is not an endangered species. It is less affected by land clearing, since the Australian echidna does not have any special requirements for its habitat, other than a sufficient amount of food. The main danger to it is from motor vehicles and habitat destruction, leading to habitat fragmentation. The animals brought by the colonists hunt echidnas.

Echidnas tolerate captivity well, but do not reproduce. It was possible to obtain offspring of the Australian echidna only in five zoos, but in none of the cases did the young live to adulthood.

The Australian echidna is depicted on the 5 cent coin and on commemorative coin$200, released in Australia in 1992. Millie the Echidna was one of the Summer mascots olympic games 2000 in Sydney.

See information about other representatives of the fauna of Australia, among which is the only Australian marsupial leading an underground lifestyle -

Order - Monotremes / Family - Echidnaidae / Genus - True echidnas

History of the study

The Australian echidna (lat. Tachyglossus aculeatus) is an oviparous mammal of the echidna family. It is the only representative of the true echidna genus Tachyglossus; sometimes its subspecies, the Tasmanian echidna, is distinguished in separate species- Tachyglossus setosus.

The Australian echidna was first described in 1792 by the English zoologist George Shaw (he also described the platypus a few years later). Shaw gave it the name Myrmecophaga aculeata, mistakenly classifying this strange long-nosed animal caught on an anthill as an anteater. Ten years later, anatomist Edward Home discovered a common feature between the echidna and the platypus - a cloaca into which the intestines, ureters and genital tracts open. Based on this feature, the order of monotremes was identified.

The echidna successively changed several more names - Ornithorhynchus hystrix, Echidna hystrix, Echidna aculeate, until it received the current one - Tachyglossus aculeatus. Its generic name translated from Greek means “fast tongue”; species - “prickly”.

Spreading

Lives throughout Australia, as well as in New Guinea, Tasmania, and on the islands located in Bass Strait. The habitat is plains, rain forests, mountains, and even cities.

Appearance

Externally, the animal most closely resembles a hedgehog - its entire body is covered with hard, coarse hairs, and its sides and back are studded with long, 5-6 cm, needles yellow color with black tips. The Australian echidna grows up to 50 cm in length and weighs up to 7 kg. The tail and ears are so small that they are practically invisible.

The echidna's muzzle is very elongated, up to 7.5 cm in length, and plays extremely important role in the life of an animal, since its vision is poorly developed, and the environment is cognized mostly through smell and hearing. The mouth, which is a very small hole at the end of the muzzle, has no teeth, but it contains a sticky tongue that is 25 cm long.

The absence of teeth is compensated by the presence of hard pads in the back of the mouth, against which food is ground. In addition, along with food, soil and sand enter the stomach, which contribute to the final grinding of the prey.

Reproduction

Echidnas live so secretly that the peculiarities of their mating behavior and reproduction were published only in 2003, after 12 years of field observations. It turned out that during the courtship period, which lasts from May to September (in different parts range, the time of its onset varies), these animals keep in groups consisting of a female and several males. Both females and males at this time emit a strong musky odor, allowing them to find each other. The group feeds and rests together; When crossing, echidnas follow in single file, forming a “train” or caravan. The female walks ahead, followed by males, of which there may be 7-10. Courtship lasts up to 4 weeks. When the female is ready to mate, she lies down, and the males begin to circle around her, throwing lumps of earth aside. After some time, a real trench with a depth of 18-25 cm is formed around the female. The males violently push each other, pushing them out of the trench, until only one winning male remains inside the ring. If there was only one male, the trench is straight. Mating (on the side) lasts about an hour.

Pregnancy lasts 21-28 days. The female builds a brood burrow, a warm, dry chamber often dug under an empty anthill, termite mound, or even a pile of garden debris near human habitation. Typically, a clutch contains one leathery egg with a diameter of 13-17 mm and weighing only 1.5 g. For a long time It remained a mystery how the echidna moves the egg from the cloaca to the brood pouch - its mouth is too small for this, and its paws are clumsy. Presumably, when putting it aside, the echidna deftly curls up into a ball; in this case, the skin on the abdomen forms a fold that secretes sticky liquid. Freezing, she glues the egg that has rolled out onto her stomach and at the same time gives the bag its shape.

After 10 days, a tiny baby hatches: it is 15 mm long and weighs only 0.4-0.5 g. Upon hatching, it breaks the shell of the egg with the help of a horny bump on the nose, an analogue of the egg tooth of birds and reptiles. The eyes of a newborn echidna are hidden under the skin, and hind legs practically undeveloped. But the front paws already have well-defined toes. With their help, in about 4 hours a newborn moves from the back of the pouch to the front, where there is a special area of skin called the milk field, or areola. In this area, 100-150 pores of the mammary glands open; each pore is equipped with a modified hair. When the cub squeezes these hairs with his mouth, milk enters his stomach. High content gland gives echidna milk its pink color.

Young echidnas grow very quickly, increasing their weight by 800-1000 times in just two months, that is, up to 400 g. The cub remains in the mother's pouch for 50-55 days - until the age when it develops spines. After this, the mother leaves him in the shelter and until the age of 5-6 months comes to feed him once every 5-10 days. In total, milk feeding lasts 200 days. Between 180 and 240 days of life, the young echidna leaves the burrow and begins to lead an independent life. Sexual maturity occurs at 2-3 years. The echidna reproduces only once every two years or less; according to some data - once every 3-7 years. But the low reproduction rate is compensated for by her long duration life. In nature, the echidna lives up to 16 years; The recorded longevity record at the zoo is 45 years.

Lifestyle

Australian echidnas can live in almost any part of the mainland, regardless of the landscape. Their home can be both wet forests and dry areas, both mountains and plains. Even in cities they are not that uncommon.

True, echidnas do not tolerate heat and cold well because they do not have sweat glands. IN hot weather they become lethargic, and when low temperatures hibernate, which can last 4 months. During this period, they use up their subcutaneous fat reserves.

Echidnas love to eat well and eat a lot. To do this, they can walk quite long distances without stopping and resting, which can reach 10-15 kilometers a day.

Echidnas are loners by nature. They unite in groups only at the beginning of the mating season, and then scatter again. They do not protect their territory and do not build permanent shelters. Echidnas are free and free to travel wherever they please. Any secluded place will suit them for sleep and rest, be it a hole between the roots of trees, a crevice between stones, hollows of fallen trees, etc.

They move a little awkwardly. But they swim very well. Echidnas are able to swim across small bodies of water.

Nutrition

Echidnas feed mainly on ants and termites, which they obtain by tearing apart the ground and termite mounds with their powerful claws. These animals do not disdain other insects and earthworms. And although the echidna has no teeth, there are horny teeth on the back of its tongue that rub against the comb palate and grind its prey. With the help of its tongue, the echidna swallows not only food, but also small pebbles and particles of soil, which, when they enter the stomach, serve as millstones for the final grinding of prey - similar to what happens in birds.

Number

Australian echidna and man

Echidnas tolerate captivity well, but do not reproduce. It was possible to obtain offspring of the Australian echidna only in five zoos, but in none of the cases did the young live to adulthood.

The Australian echidna is featured on the 5-cent coin and on the $200 commemorative coin issued in Australia in 1992. Millie the Echidna was one of the mascots of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Oviparous - belong to the class mammals, subclass cloacal. Among all known vertebrates, monotremes are the most primitive mammals. The detachment received its name due to the presence of a special characteristic among its representatives. Oviparous animals have not yet adapted to viviparity and lay eggs to reproduce offspring, and after the babies are born, they feed them with milk.

Biologists believe that monotremes emerged from reptiles, as an offshoot from a group of mammals, even before the birth of marsupials and placentals.

The platypus is a representative oviparous species

Structure of the skeleton of the limbs, head, organs circulatory system, the breath of primal beasts and reptiles is similar. In the fossils Mesozoic era remains of oviparous animals have been identified. Monotremes then inhabited the territory of Australia, and later occupied the South American expanses and Antarctica.

Today, the first beast can be found only in Australia and the islands located nearby.

Origin and diversity of mammals. Oviparous and true animals.

The ancestors of mammals are the reptiles of the Paleozoic. This fact confirms the similarity in the structure of reptiles and mammals, especially at the stages of embryogenesis.

IN Permian period a group of theriodonts was formed - the ancestors of modern mammals. Their teeth were placed in the recesses of the jaw. Most animals had a bony palate.

However, the environmental conditions that formed during the Mesozoic era contributed to the development of reptiles and they became the dominant group of animals. But the Mesozoic climate soon changed dramatically and reptiles were unable to adapt to new conditions, and mammals occupied the main niche of the animal world.

The class of mammals is divided into 2 subclasses:

Subclass Primordial or Monotreme;
subclass Real animals.

Real animals and monotremes share a number of characteristics: a hairy or spiny outer covering, mammary glands, and a hard palate. Also, primal beasts have common characteristics with reptiles and birds: the presence of a cloaca, laying eggs, and a similar skeletal structure.

Order Monotremes - general characteristics

Echidna is a representative of monotremes

Oviparous animals are not large sizes with a body flattened from top to bottom, short limbs with large claws and a leathery beak. They have small eyes and a short tail. Oviparous animals do not have a developed external auricle.

Only representatives of the duckbill family have teeth and they look like flat plates equipped with protrusions along the edges. The stomach is intended only for storing food; the intestines are responsible for digesting food. Salivary glands very developed, large in size, the stomach passes into the cecum, which, together with the urogenital sinus, flows into the cloaca.

First beasts do not have a real uterus and placenta. Reproduction by laying eggs, they contain little yolk, and the shell contains keratin. The mammary glands have many ducts that open on the ventral side in special glandular fields, since monotremes do not have nipples.

Body temperature can vary: it does not rise above 36°C, but with significant cold weather it can drop to 25°C. Echidnas and platypuses do not make sounds because they lack vocal cords. The lifespan of echidnas is about 30 years, platypuses - about 10. They inhabit forests, steppes with shrubs and are even found in mountainous areas (at an altitude of up to 2500m).

Representatives of oviparous species have poisonous glands. On the hind limbs there is a bone spur through which a poisonous secretion flows. The poison is potent, in many animals it provokes disruption of the functioning of vital organs, and it is also dangerous for humans - it causes severe pain and extensive swelling at the site of the lesion.

Catching and hunting for representatives of the detachment is prohibited, as they are listed in the Red Book due to the threat of extinction.

Platypus and Echidna

The platypus and echidna are oviparous mammals, the only representatives of the order.

A small animal about 30-40cm long (body), tail part up to 15cm, weighing 2kg. Males are always larger than females. It lives near bodies of water.

Five-fingered limbs are well adapted for digging the ground; on the coast, platypuses dig holes for themselves about 10 meters in length, arranging them for later life(one entrance is underwater, the other is a couple of meters above the water level). The head is equipped with a beak, like a duck’s (hence the name of the animal).

Platypuses stay in the water for 10 hours, where they obtain food: aquatic vegetation, worms, crustaceans and mollusks. Swimming membranes between the toes on the front paws (almost undeveloped on the hind limbs) allow the platypus to swim well and quickly. When the animal dives underwater, the eyes and ear openings close, but the platypus can navigate the water thanks to sensitive nerve endings on its beak. It even has electroreception.

Platypuses carry their young for a month and produce from one to three eggs. First, the female incubates them for 10 days, and then feeds them with milk for about 4 months, and at the age of 5 months the platypuses are already capable of independent life, leave the hole.

Oviparous mammals also include echidna, found in forests appearance looks like a hedgehog. To obtain food, the echidna digs the ground with powerful claws and, with the help of a long and sticky tongue, obtains the necessary food (termites, ants).

The body is covered with spines, which protect it from predators; when danger approaches, the echidna curls up into a ball and becomes inaccessible to enemies. The female weighs approximately 5 kg, and lays an egg weighing 2 g. The echidna hides the egg in a pouch formed by a leathery fold in the abdominal area and carries it, warming it with its warmth, for two weeks. A newborn calf is born with a weight of 0.5 g and continues to live in the mother’s pouch, where it is fed with milk.

After 1.5 months, the echidna leaves the pouch, but continues to live in the hole under the protection of its mother. After 7-8 months, the baby is able to find food on his own and differs from an adult only in size.

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