echidna

views updated May 29 2018

echidna (spiny anteater) Monotreme related to the platypus, found in Australia and New Guinea. It is a primitive egg-laying mammal with a cloaca, spines on the upper body, and an elongated snout. Length: 30–77cm (12–30in).

World Encyclopedia

echidna

views updated May 21 2018

e·chid·na / əˈkidnə/ • n. a spiny insectivorous egg-laying mammal (family Tachyglossidae, order Monotremata) with a long snout and claws, native to Australia and New Guinea. Also called spiny anteater.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

echidna

views updated Jun 11 2018

echidna (Tachyglossus) See TACHYGLOSSIDAE.

A Dictionary of Zoology MICHAEL ALLABY

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