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Questions:
How
do Echidnas do their Mating?
How
and Where Do Echidnas Live?
How
Long are Echidnas' Tongues?
What
are the Echidnas' Main Enemies?
How
do Echidnas Escape Danger?
What
is the Average Lifespan of an Echidna?
How
Long are Echidnas' Burrows?
Welcome
Echidnas are famous for their method of escaping danger. While echidnas do not build borrows to live in (except for the raising of young, see below), they are excellent diggers. If caught in an exposed position, an echidnas will dig very rapidly straight down. In seconds, all that is showing is a small tuft of spines along the back.
Echidnas
are also surprisingly good swimmers, and like a dip,
especially on hot days.
Echidnas
eat ants and termites. Echidna tongues are 15-18 centimeters
long and oval in cross section, they can shoot out of the
tiny mouth with lightning speed and be bent in U-shapes to
follow ant tunnels. The tongue is coated with a secretion
with the consistency of treacle. Prey sticks to the tongue,
and then is removed in the mouth by spines which line the
roof. The Echidna has no teeth, food is ground up with
special hard pads on the back of the tongue and top of the
mouth. Echidnas are pretty efficient at all this, a three
kilogram echidna can eat 200 grams of ants in ten
minutes.
Echidna or Spiny Anteater is the name given to two species of animals found in Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea.
The much better known of these is Tachyglossus Aculeatus, (Which means "fast-tongued, spiny"), also known as the "short-beaked echidna." It is a medium sized animal, about a foot long and weighing around 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds, females are somewhat smaller) with a smallish head attached to a stocky body, and a long cylindrical snout. Its color varies from blond to black, but darker colors are more common. The echidna is covered on its back and sides with stout spines mixed with bristly hair, and superficially resembles a large hedgehog. It is common throughout Australia and Tasmania. It is much less common in coastal areas of New Guinea.
A second species of Echidna is given the scientific name Zaglossus Bruijni (Zaglossus means "Great Tongue", Bruijni refers a Dutch trader who collected the first known specimen), also called the "Long-beaked Echidna." It is considerably bigger that Tachyglossus, growing as large as 16.5 Kilos (36.3 pounds), and has a longer snout curving downwards. The spines tend to be shorter than on Tachyglossus, and are often almost wholly concealed by fur, except along the flanks. Its legs are longer than in its more rotund short-beaked cousin, and it is sometimes described as more pig-like. It is found only in highland regions of New Guinea, and is quite rare. Experts view it as vulnerable to extinction. Unfortunately, very little is known about Zaglossus's biology, behavior or ecological role.
Many sources on Echidnas describe them as nocturnal, this is not correct. Studies have found that Echidna activity levels vary with temperature, not light levels. Echidnas are most active when the temperature is between 16 and 20 degrees Celsius. (60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit). This means in the hot summer, they will operate mainly at night, but other times of the year may be active during the day.
Echidnas show greater variation in body temperature than do other mammals, depending on activity levels and air temperature. Their body temperature never exceeds 34 degrees Celsius, the lowest of any mammal. Echidna metabolic rates, measured as oxygen consumption per unit weight under conditions of inactivity, is also the lowest of all mammals (except the platypus.) Heat is much more dangerous to Echidnas then cold, and body temperatures above 34 degrees Celsius are probably fatal. Echidnas avoid high temperatures in burrows, hollow logs, and rock crevices, and may also go for a swim to cool themselves down. Echidnas have no sweat glands (at least, Tachyglossus does not, there are some reports that Zaglossus has sweat glands. If so, this presents an interesting evolutionary puzzle).
