echidna, in zoology

echidna (ĭkĭd`nə) or spiny anteater, primitive animal of the order Monotremata, the egg-laying mammals. A short-legged, grayish brown animal, the echidna is covered with sharp quills and can protect itself by rolling into a tight bristly ball. It may reach 18 in. (46 cm) in length. Padded soles and stout claws make it a clumsy walker but a strong and rapid burrower. The echidna has only a rudimentary tail and lacks both external ears and teeth. With its sensitive muzzle and long sticky tongue it probes for ants and termites. It is nocturnal and hibernates in winter. There are two genera and several species of echidna; all are native to the sandy and rocky areas of New Guinea, E Australia, and Tasmania. Females produce one or two eggs, which are deposited in a rudimentary marsupial pouch. The newly hatched young remain in the pouch, feeding on a milky fluid, until their spines begin to grow. Echidnas are not closely related to true anteaters, which are higher mammals. They are classified in the phylum Chordata Chordata (kôrdā`tə,–dä`–)
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Monotremata.

Echidna, in Greek mythology

Echidna: see Typhon Typhon (tī`fŏn) or Typhoeus
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echidna

or spiny anteater

Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus).

(credit: Kristi L. Bowman)

any of three species of egg-laying mammals (monotremes) of the family Tachyglossidae. Echidnas are stocky and virtually tailless. They have strong-clawed feet and spines on the upper part of the brownish body. The snout is narrow, the mouth very small, and the tongue long and sticky for feeding on termites, ants, and other invertebrates in the soil. The short-beaked echidna common in Australia and Tasmania is 12–21 in. (30–53 cm) long. Two species of long-beaked echidna live only on the island of New Guinea. They are 18–31 in. (45–78 cm) long and have a prominent downward-pointing snout. They are valued for their meat and are declining in numbers. Echidnas exude milk from mammary openings on the skin, and the young lap it up. See also anteater; pangolin; hedgehog.

Echidna

half nymph, half snake; never grew old. [Gk. Myth.: Kravitz, 85]