echidna
Australian egg-layer
An echidna is a spiny egg-laying mammal native to Australia and New Guinea, sometimes called a spiny anteater.
Echidnas have long snouts and tongues for feeding on ants and termites, and their bodies are covered with coarse hair and sharp spines.
Along with platypuses, they are the only surviving monotremes—mammals that lay eggs.
We spotted an echidna waddling through the underbrush. (Capitalized Echidna is the monster of Greek mythology.)
Social colony insects
- termitesWood-eating social insects
- tongueOral muscle for taste
- stickyApt to adhere
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
snout · digging · claws · insectivorous · larvae · colonies · invertebrate · prey
Egg-laying Australian mammal
- egg-layingReproducing via external ova
- cloacaMultipurpose posterior opening
- oviparousReproducing through external eggs
- incubationDevelopment before emergence
lactation · puggles · burrow · snout · beak · nursing · endothermic · primitive
ants
Social colony insects
foraging · snout · digging · claws · insectivorous · larvae · colonies · invertebrate · prey · burrowing
platypus
Egg-laying Australian mammal
- egg-layingReproducing via external ova
- cloacaMultipurpose posterior opening
- oviparousReproducing through external eggs
incubation · lactation · puggles · burrow · snout · beak · nursing · endothermic · primitive · evolutionary
quills
Hollow defensive animal spikes
defense · protection · armor · sharp · pointed · needle-like · barbed · bristle · coarse · stiff
Outback
Australian-themed steakhouse chain
- bushlandUncultivated native vegetation area
- TasmaniaIsland state below Australia
- eucalyptusAromatic Australian timber tree
wildlife · native · endemic · nocturnal · solitary · waddle · conservation · emblem