ECHIDNA

also called Spiny Anteater, either of two species of egg-laying mammals constituting the family Tachyglossidae, order Monotremata. These stocky, virtually tailless, brownish-furred animals have strong-clawed feet and, on the upper part of the body, spines as well as hair. The spines vary in colour from white and yellow to black. Echidnas of the genus Zaglossus, the several forms of which are usually considered races of Z. bruijni of New Guinea, are 45 to 78 cm (18 to 31 inches) long and rather piglike, with short, wide-set spines. The other species, Tachyglossus aculeatus, found in many habitats across Australia and Tasmania (the latter population sometimes considered a separate species, T. setosus), is 35 to 53 cm (14 to 21 inches) long and has spines like a hedgehog's. Z. bruijni, which is valued for its meat, is declining in numbers as a combined result of forest clearance and unrestricted hunting. To frustrate enemies, an echidna may roll into a ball and dig straight down in loose soil, or it may wedge itself tightly into a crack. Males have spurs on the hindlegs, presumably for combat. Both genera have a narrow, sensitive snout (longer and decurved in Zaglossus), a small mouth, and an extensible sticky tongue for feeding on termites and ants. An echidna can fast for a month. The female lays a single egg, which is transferred into a pouch she developed in the breeding season. Incubation takes about 10 days. The young receives milk, exuded from the nippleless mammary openings, for about seven weeks; then the mother hides its young in a nest of leaves. An echidna may live from 30 to 50 years in captivity.