🦔
🏷️
Classification
Mammal
🍽️
Diet
Insectivore
⏱️
Lifespan
10–50 years
⚖️
Weight
2–7 kg
Population Trend
➡️Stable
Description
An egg-laying mammal covered in spines, one of only two monotreme species still alive today.
Habitat
🌿 forest🌿 grassland🌿 desert🌿 alpine
Extended Data
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Monotremata
Family
Tachyglossidae
Genus
Tachyglossus
Fun Facts
1
Echidnas and platypuses are the only mammals that lay eggs.
2
They have no teeth — they grind insects between their tongue and the roof of their mouth.
3
An echidna can curl into a tight ball when threatened, presenting only spines.
4
They have an unusually low body temperature of around 32°C.
5
Male echidnas have a four-headed penis — one of the strangest anatomical features in nature.