Portal:Australia/Featured article/Week 10, 2006



The Short-beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), also commonly known as the spiny anteater because of its diet of ants and termites, 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 specialised 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. The species is found throughout Australia, where it is the most widespread native mammal, and in coastal and highland regions of New Guinea. 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.