Short-beaked Echidna

The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus Tachyglossus. The short-beaked echidna is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialized tongue which it uses to catch its prey at a great speed. Like the other extant monotremes, the short-beaked echidna lays eggs; the monotremes are the only group of mammals to do so.

This echidna has extremely strong front limbs and claws due to its mechanical advantage which allows it to burrow quickly with great power. As it needs to be able to survive underground it has a significant tolerance to high levels of carbon dioxide and low levels of oxygen. It has no weapons or fighting ability but repels predators by curling into a ball and deterring them with its spines. The echidna lacks the ability to sweat and cannot deal with heat well so it tends to avoid daytime activity in hot weather. It can swim if needed. The snout has mechanical and electroreceptors that help the echidna to detect what is around it.

During the winter it goes into deep torpor and hibernation to save energy and reduce metabolism before emerging, as the temperature increases, to mate. Female echidnas lay one egg a year and the mating period is the only time the otherwise solitary animals meet one another; the male has no further contact with the female or his offspring after mating. A young echidna is the size of a grape but grows rapidly on its mother's milk, which is very rich in nutrients. Baby echidnas eventually grow too large and spiky to stay in the pouch and, at around six months of age, they leave the burrow and have no more contact with their mothers.

The species is found throughout Australia, where it is the most widespread native mammal, and in coastal and highland regions of southwestern New Guinea, where it is known as the mungwe in the Daribi and Chimbu languages. It is not threatened with extinction, but human activities, such as hunting, habitat destruction, and the introduction of foreign predatory species and parasites, have reduced the distribution of the short-beaked echidna in Australia. Attempts to breed the echidna in captivity have not been successful to date, with none reaching maturity. However, as the echidna can survive merely by foraging dead logs for ants and termites, it can survive in environments with restricted resources.