ECHIDNA

[echid.na] n [NL, fr. L, viper, fr. Gk--more at ophitic] (1832): an oviparous spiny-coated toothless burrowing nocturnal monotreme mammal (Tachyglossus aculeatus) of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea that has a long extensile tongue and long heavy claws and that feeds chiefly on ants; also: a related mammal (Zaglossus bruijni) of New Guinea having a longer snout and shorter spines