Short-beaked echidna,Tachyglossus aculeatus,Queensland,Australia
Echidnas, sometimes known as spiny anteaters,belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. The four extant species, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of the order Monotremata and are the only living mammals that lay diet of some species consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the true anteaters of the Americas. Echidnas live in Australia and New Guinea. Echidnas are medium-sized, solitary mammals covered with coarse hair and have elongated and slender snouts that function as both mouth and nose. Like the platypus, they are equipped with electrosensors, but while the platypus has 40,000 electroreceptors on its bill, the long-billed echidna has only 2,000 electroreceptors, and the short-billed echidna, which lives in a drier environment, has no more than 400 located at the tip of its snout. They have very short, strong limbs with large claws, and are powerful diggers. The echidna feeds by tearing open soft logs, anthills and the like, and using its long, sticky tongue, which protrudes from its snout, to collect prey.
Size: 5189px × 3501px
Location: Queensland,Australia
Photo credit: © Dominic Robinson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: aculeatus, animal, animals, ant-eater, ant-eaters, anteater, anteaters, australia, australian, echidna, echidnas, egg, endemic, endemics, laying, mammal, mammals, monotremata, monotreme, monotremes, montreme, nature, queensland, short-beaked, spiny, tachyglossidae, tachyglossus, wildlife
