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Echidna
Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae . The four extant species of echidnas and the platypus are the only living mammals that lay eggs and the only surviving members of the order Monotremata. The diet of some species consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the true anteaters of the Americas, which (along with sloths and armadillos) are xenarthrans. Echidnas live in Australia and New Guinea. Echidnas evolved between 20 and 50 million years ago, descending from a platypus-like monotreme. This ancestor was aquatic, but echidnas adapted to life on land. Etymology Echidnas are named after Echidna, a creature from Greek mythology who was half-woman, half-snake, as the animal was perceived to have qualities of both mammals and reptiles. An alternative explanation is a confusion with . Physical characteristics Echidnas are medium-sized, solitary mamm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echidna (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Echidna (; grc-gre, Ἔχιδνα, "She-Viper") was a monster, half-woman and half-snake, who lived alone in a cave. She was the mate of the fearsome monster Typhon and was the mother of many of the most famous monsters of Greek myth. Genealogy Echidna's family tree varies by author. The oldest genealogy relating to Echidna, Hesiod's ''Theogony'' (c. 8th – 7th century BC), is unclear on several points. According to Hesiod, Echidna was born to a "she" who was probably meant by Hesiod to be the sea goddess Ceto, making Echidna's likely father the sea god Phorcys; however the "she" might instead refer to the Oceanid Callirhoe, which would make Medusa's offspring Chrysaor the father of Echidna. The mythographer Pherecydes of Athens (5th century BC) has Echidna as the daughter of Phorcys, without naming a mother. Other authors give Echidna other parents. According to the geographer Pausanias (2nd century AD), Epimenides (7th or 6th century BC) had Echidna as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short-beaked Echidna
The short-beaked echidna (''Tachyglossus aculeatus''), also called the short-nosed echidna, is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus ''Tachyglossus''. It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialized tongue, which it uses to catch its insect prey at a great speed. Like the other extant monotremes, the short-beaked echidna lays eggs; the monotremes are the only living group of mammals to do so. The short-beaked echidna has extremely strong front limbs and claws, which allow it to burrow quickly with great power. As it needs to be able to survive underground, it has a significant tolerance to high levels of carbon dioxide and low levels of oxygen. It has no weapons or fighting ability but repels predators by curling into a ball and deterring them with its spines. It lacks the ability to sweat and cannot deal with heat well, so it tends to avoid daytime activity in hot weather. It can swim if needed. The snout has m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tachyglossus
The short-beaked echidna (''Tachyglossus aculeatus''), also called the short-nosed echidna, is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus ''Tachyglossus''. It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialized tongue, which it uses to catch its insect prey at a great speed. Like the other extant monotremes, the short-beaked echidna lays eggs; the monotremes are the only living group of mammals to do so. The short-beaked echidna has extremely strong front limbs and claws, which allow it to burrow quickly with great power. As it needs to be able to survive underground, it has a significant tolerance to high levels of carbon dioxide and low levels of oxygen. It has no weapons or fighting ability but repels predators by curling into a ball and deterring them with its spines. It lacks the ability to sweat and cannot deal with heat well, so it tends to avoid daytime activity in hot weather. It can swim if needed. The snout has m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tachyglossus Aculeatus
The short-beaked echidna (''Tachyglossus aculeatus''), also called the short-nosed echidna, is one of four living species of echidna and the only member of the genus ''Tachyglossus''. It is covered in fur and spines and has a distinctive snout and a specialized tongue, which it uses to catch its insect prey at a great speed. Like the other extant monotremes, the short-beaked echidna lays eggs; the monotremes are the only living group of mammals to do so. The short-beaked echidna has extremely strong front limbs and claws, which allow it to burrow quickly with great power. As it needs to be able to survive underground, it has a significant tolerance to high levels of carbon dioxide and low levels of oxygen. It has no weapons or fighting ability but repels predators by curling into a ball and deterring them with its spines. It lacks the ability to sweat and cannot deal with heat well, so it tends to avoid daytime activity in hot weather. It can swim if needed. The snout has mec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monotreme
Monotremes () are prototherian mammals of the order Monotremata. They are one of the three groups of living mammals, along with placentals (Eutheria), and marsupials (Metatheria). Monotremes are typified by structural differences in their brains, jaws, digestive tract, reproductive tract, and other body parts, compared to the more common mammalian types. In addition, they lay eggs rather than bearing live young, but, like all mammals, the female monotremes nurse their young with milk. Monotremes have been considered members of Australosphenida, a clade that contains extinct mammals from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of Madagascar, South America, and Australia, though this is disputed. The only surviving examples of monotremes are all indigenous to Australia and New Guinea, although there is evidence that they were once more widespread, as ''Monotrematum'' is known from the Paleocene of South America. The extant monotreme species are the platypus and four species of echidnas. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zaglossus Bruijnii
The western long-beaked echidna (''Zaglossus bruijnii'') is one of the four extant echidnas and one of three species of ''Zaglossus'' that occurs in New Guinea. Originally described as ''Tachyglossus bruijnii'', this is the type species of ''Zaglossus''. Description The western long-beaked echidna is an egg-laying mammal. Unlike the short-beaked echidna, which eats ants and termites, the long-beaked species eats earthworms. The long-beaked echidna is also larger than the short-beaked species, reaching up to ; the snout is longer and turns downward; and the spines are almost indistinguishable from the long fur. It is distinguished from the other ''Zaglossus'' species by the number of claws on the fore and hind feet: three (rarely four). It is the largest extant monotreme. Distribution and habitat The species is found in the Bird's Head Peninsula and Foja Mountains of West Papua and Papua provinces, Indonesia, respectively, in regions of elevation between ; it is absen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megalibgwilia
''Megalibgwilia'' is a genus of echidna known only from Australian fossils that incorporates the oldest-known echidna species. The genus ranged from the Miocene until the late Pleistocene, becoming extinct about 50,000 years ago. ''Megalibgwilia'' species were more widespread in warmer and moist climates. The extinction can be attributed to increasing aridification in Southern Australia. ''Megalibgwilia'' was first described from a broken left humerus by Richard Owen in 1884, as ''"Echidna" ramsayi''. Complete skulls and postcranial fossils have since been described. A second species, ''M. robusta'', was described in 1896 by Australian paleontologist William Sutherland Dun. ''Megalibgwilia'' comes from Greek ''mégas'' (μέγᾰς) and Wemba Wemba ''libgwil'' (plus the Latin suffix ''-ia''), meaning echidna. Although they are sometimes commonly referred to as giant echidnas, ''Megalibgwilia'' species are thought to have been similar in size to the contemporary weste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zaglossus
The long-beaked echidnas (genus ''Zaglossus'') make up one of the two extant genera of echidnas, spiny monotremes that live in New Guinea; the other being the short-beaked echidna. There are three living species and one extinct species in this genus. The extinct species were present in Australia. Echidnas are one of the two types of mammals that lay eggs, the other being the platypus. The echidnas retain reptilian features such as egg-laying but display mammalian features such as fur and lactation. The Eastern species is listed as vulnerable, while Sir David's and western long-beaked echidna species are listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Species ''Zaglossus attenboroughi'' * Habitat: known only from the Cyclops Mountains of Papua, Indonesia, New Guinea * Time: Holocene * Critically endangered Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as critically endangered. ''Zaglossus bartoni'' * Habitat: on the central cordillera between the Paniai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zaglossus Attenboroughi
Sir David's long-beaked echidna (''Zaglossus attenboroughi''), also known as Attenborough's long-beaked echidna or the Cyclops long-beaked echidna, is one of the three species from the genus ''Zaglossus'' that occurs in New Guinea. It is named in honour of Sir David Attenborough, the eminent naturalist. It lives in the Cyclops Mountains, which are near the cities of Sentani and Jayapura in the Indonesian province of Papua. Description It is the smallest member of the genus ''Zaglossus'', being closer in size to the short-beaked echidna (''Tachyglossus aculeatus''). The male is larger than the female, and can be differentiated by the spurs on its hind legs. The echidna is not a social animal, and comes together with its own kind only once a year, in July, to mate. The female will lay the eggs after about eight days, and the babies will stay in the mother's pouch for around eight weeks or until their spines develop. The creature is nocturnal, and can roll up into a spiny ball ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zaglossus Bartoni
The eastern long-beaked echidna (''Zaglossus bartoni''), also known as Barton's long-beaked echidna, is one of three species from the genus ''Zaglossus'' to occur in New Guinea. It is found mainly in the eastern half at elevations between . Description The eastern long-beaked echidna can be distinguished from other members of the genus by the number of claws on the fore and hind feet: it has five claws on its fore feet and four on its hind feet. Its weight varies from ; its body length ranges from ; it has no tail. It has dense black fur. It rolls into a spiny ball for defense. They have a lifespan of roughly 30 years. Like the closely related platypus, echidnas have spurs on their hind legs. Unlike the platypus, echidna spurs are not venomous. All eastern long-beaked echidnas start with spurs on their hind feet and spur sheaths that cover them. Females typically lose their spurs later in life while males keep them. Females are also generally larger than males. Body mass tends to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steropodon
''Steropodon'' is a genus of prehistoric monotreme, or egg-laying mammal. It contains a single species, ''Steropodon galmani'', that lived about 105 to 93.3 million years ago (mya) in the Early to Late Cretaceous period. It is one of the oldest monotremes discovered, and is one of the oldest Australian mammal discoveries. Taxonomy The dentition of ''Steropodon'' is somewhat similar to that of therians—the placentals and the marsupials—specifically the presence of the tribosphenic molar tooth which was thought to be exclusive to therians since the Cretaceous. This, along with the tribosphenic molar discoveries of monotreme-relatives ''Ausktribosphenos'' and ''Ambondro mahabo'' of which the latter evolved in the Jurassic, led to the conclusion that the molar evolved independently in the two lineages. This inspired the creation of the subclasses Australosphenida—the monotremes and extinct relatives—and Tribosphenida—placentals and marsupials. However, given this classif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammals
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. These characteristics distinguish them from reptiles (including birds) from which they diverged in the Carboniferous, over 300 million years ago. Around 6,400 extant species of mammals have been described divided into 29 orders. The largest orders, in terms of number of species, are the rodents, bats, and Eulipotyphla (hedgehogs, moles, shrews, and others). The next three are the Primates (including humans, apes, monkeys, and others), the Artiodactyla ( cetaceans and even-toed ungulates), and the Carnivora (cats, dogs, seals, and others). In terms of cladistics, which reflects evolutionary history, mammals are the only living members of the Synapsida (synapsids); this clade, together with Saur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
