Echidna

Echidnas Temporal range: Pliocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Short-beaked echidna
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Monotremata
Superfamily:	Ornithorhynchoidea
Family:	Tachyglossidae Gill, 1872
Type genus
Tachyglossus Illiger, 1811
Species
Genus Tachyglossus    T. aculeatus Genus Zaglossus    Z. attenboroughi    Z. bruijnii    Z. bartoni Genus †Megalibgwilia    †M. owenii    †M. robusta Genus †Murrayglossus    †M. hacketti
Echidna range   Short-beaked echidna   Western long-beaked echidna   Eastern long-beaked echidna   Sir David's long-beaked echidna

Echidnas (/ɪˈkɪdnəz/), sometimes known as spiny anteaters,^[1] are quill-covered^[2] monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the family Tachyglossidae /tækiˈɡlɒsɪdiː/, living in Australia and New Guinea. 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.^[3] The diet of some species consists of ants and termites, but they are not closely related to the American true anteaters or to hedgehogs. Their young are called puggles.

Echidnas evolved between 20 and 50 million years ago, descending from a platypus-like monotreme.^[4] This ancestor was aquatic, but echidnas adapted to life on land.^[4]