Due to their low metabolism and accompanying stress resistance, echidnas are long-lived for their size; the longest recorded lifespan for a captive echidna is 50 years, with anecdotal accounts of wild individuals reaching 45 years. [16] The echidna's brain is half neocortex, [17] compared to 80% of a human brain.

Jan 15, 2025 · echidna, (family Tachyglossidae), any of four species of peculiar egg-laying mammals from Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea that eat and breathe through a bald tubular beak protruding from a dome-shaped body covered in spines.

They evolved between 20 and 50 million years ago, and 4 species of echidna survive today: the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), Sir David’s long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus attenboroughi), the western long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bruijnii), and the eastern long-beaked echidna (Zaglossus bartoni).

5 days ago · Echidna’s murderer, Argus Panoptes, was a sworn servant of Hera. The order to kill her was a secondary duty. His main duty was to keep an eye on Zeus’ lover, Io, and to make sure that Zeus stayed away from her. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses Echidna is said to be capable of producing a poisonous venom with the power to induce madness.

Dec 20, 2024 · These animals derive their name from Echidna, a Greek mythological monster who was partly woman and partly snake. Such a taxonomy seems apt for echidnas since these animals have qualities of both mammals and reptiles.

While the echidna (pronounced ih-KID-na) is considered a mammal — because it's warm-blooded, has hair on its body and produces milk for its young — this large hedgehog-like creature is in a class of its own.

Apr 7, 2023 · A baby echidna is a puggle. A group of echidnas is a parade —unless they’re mature males waddling after a female in mating season, in which case it’s a train (often with a younger male at ...

Everything you should know about the Echidna. The Echidna looks like a cross between a hedgehog and an anteater, and is a rare mammal that lays eggs.

The most common echidna species, the short-beaked echidna, is found across Australia and Tasmania. It has a short beak and primarily feeds on ants and termites. In contrast, the long-beaked echidna, found in New Guinea, has a much longer beak and a diet that includes earthworms and other invertebrates. Long-beaked echidnas are larger than their ...

Echidna unicolor L. P. Schultz, 1953 (unicolor moray) Echidna xanthospilos (Bleeker, 1859) (New Guinea moray) In addition to the species listed above, the zebra moray ( Gymnomuraena zebra ) has sometimes been included in Echidna .