Tachyglossidae Gallery

Australian wildlife, lithograph, published in 1897

Australian wildlife: 1) Eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus); 2) Tree-kangaroo; 3) Tasmanian tiger, or Tasmanian wolf (Thylacinus cynocephalus, extinct); 4) Duck-billed platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus); 5) Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus); 6) Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus); 7) New Zealand kaka (Nestor meridionalis); 8) Kakapo (Strigops habroptila); 9) Lesser bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea minor); 10) Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae); 11) Southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius); 12) North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli); 13) Superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae); 14) Australian brushturkey (Alectura lathami); 15) Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus); 16) Australian Lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri); 17) Yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea). Lithograph after a drawing by Gustav MAOEtzel (German painter, 1839 - 1893), published in 1897

Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)

Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), rolled into a tight ball to protect its soft underbelly, a defensive behaviour. Dryandra Woodland, Western Australia

© Robert McLean/AUSCAPE All rights reserved

Anteaters, Australian Mammals, Australian Wildlife, Claws, Curled, Defense, Eats Ants, Eats Termites, Echidnas, Egg Laying Monotremes, Mammalia, Monotremata, Porcupine, Prickles, Prickly, Protection, Prototheria, Snout, Spikes, Spiky, Spines, Spiny, Tachyglossidae, Tachyglossus, Tachyglossus Aculeatus

Echidna

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 that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs. Their diet consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the true anteaters of the Americas. They live in Australia and New Guinea