Echidna

(ē-kid´na), a genus of Australian toothle mammals, in size and general appearance resembling a large hedgehog, excepting that the spines are longer and the muzzle is protracted and slender, with a small aperture at the extremity for the protraction of a long flexible tongue. The habits of the Echidna are nocturnal; it burrows, having short strong legs with five toes, and feeds on insects, which it catches by protruding its long sticky tongue. It is nearly allied to the Ornithorhynchus, the two forming a peculiar cla of animals, having in their structure some peculiarities at once of mammals, birds, and reptiles. In 1884 it was found that, as Geoffrey St. Hilaire had suspected, the Echidna, the closely related Pro echidna of New Guinea, and the Ornithorhynchus constitute the lowest sub-cla of mammals, the Prot other i a or Monotremata, which present many reptilian characters. They po e a cloaca into which the intestine and urinogenital ducts open and are oviparous. During the breeding season a temporary pouch is formed, and into this the milk-glands open, but there are no teats. The egg when laid is put into the pouch by the mother, and is there hatched in a very immature state. It feeds by licking up the milk in the pouch. Later on, the mother digs a burrow, where she leaves the young at night, returning during the day to suckle it. One species ( E. hystrix ), from its appearance is popularly known as the porcupine ant-eater .