Echidna
| Echidnas Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Short-beaked echidna | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Monotremata |
| Family: | Tachyglossidae Gill, 1872 |
| Type genus | |
| Tachyglossus Illiger, 1811 | |
| Species | |
|
Genus Tachyglossus | |
| Echidna range
Short-beaked echidna
Western long-beaked echidna
Sir David's long-beaked echidna | |
Echidnas (/ɪˈkɪdnəz/), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae /tækiˈɡlɒsɪdiː/, living in Australia and New Guinea. The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the only surviving members of the order Monotremata. The diet of some species consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the American true anteaters or to hedgehogs. Their young are called puggles.
Echidnas evolved between 20 and 50 million years ago, descending from a platypus-like monotreme. This ancestor was aquatic, but echidnas adapted to life on land.